After the Winter Solstice, the days gradually grew longer, and so did the morning sunlight.
At just seven o'clock, golden rays of winter morning sun streamed through the lightly-covered curtains inside the room. Bathed in the warmth of dawn, the light carried a gentle golden hue.
Such warm colors on a bleak winter day immediately lifted everyone's spirits.
Lao Zhu and a few others rose in the glow of this light, but as soon as they stepped outside, they were met with a sharp sneeze.
"Ah-choo!" Xiaodu hurried over with concern, but Lao Zhu waved his hand dismissively, "It's nothing, why get so worked up over a sneeze—the air outside is chilly, it wakes you right up once you step out!"
He then muttered to Lao Zhou and the others, "I don't know why, but I feel like sleeping here in the mountains is a lot better."
