The next morning, everyone was refreshed and continued their journey south.

After leaving Weicheng, they rarely encountered such bustling places along the way. They mostly passed through small counties or towns, and sometimes, when it got late, they would stay overnight in villages.

After traveling for more than a month, the group's biggest worry became how to avoid the rain.

The reason is simple: it has been raining too much lately. The weather was already cold, and with the rain, it was even worse. The people sitting in the carriage were okay, but the driver was suffering.

Even when wearing a raincoat and a rain hat, the chill can still penetrate through the layers of cotton clothing and seep straight into the body.

This is where the advantage of having more people came in. The men could take turns driving, and Lai Fu even arranged for someone to replace Uncle Zhao, so everyone had time to catch their breath and continue once they warmed up.

Whenever the weather was like this, Min Yueqing would instruct Amei to fetch medicinal herbs from the car and brew a large pot of schizonepeta and saposhnikovia porridge or ginger and brown sugar tea, ensuring that everyone could get a large bowl to warm the body and dispel the cold.

If they could find a place to stay in the county town, it would be much more convenient to buy things. Min Yueqing would always ask Lai Fu to find out if there was any mutton for sale. If there was, they would buy a large piece of mutton and ask the inn to make mutton soup for them.

Lamb is warm in nature and can replenish deficiencies, boost yang energy, and dispel cold. Adding appropriate amounts of ginger and pepper to make lamb soup helps improve the body's ability to resist cold.

The men brought by Manager Liu were all young and strong, with excellent physical condition. Uncle Zhao and Amo also had experience traveling, and they kept a close eye on things. In addition, thanks to Min Yueqing's proper arrangements, although they often encountered rainy weather during this period, everyone's health was good, and few people fell ill.

Among them, Pei Ji was the weakest. Although he rarely got wet in the rain, he was still the one that Min Yueqing was most worried about.

Whenever there is bad weather, Min Yueqing would wrap the little one up like a fluffy ball and hold him close, checking on his condition from time to time. Amei and the other woman would also take good care of him.

With the Spring Festival approaching, the group hurried along and finally arrived in a small county town on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, thus avoiding spending the New Year outdoors.

This small county is called Banan County. The inn in the county is rather small and could barely accommodate their group.

Before getting out of the car, Min Yueqing said, "We'll spend the New Year here and leave on the second day of the Lunar New Year. Everyone should relax for a couple of days." She then instructed Amei, "Give everyone an extra three months' salary later so they can have some fun."

On New Year's Eve, which is tomorrow night, they will receive an extra red envelope. The amount will depend on their performance on weekdays; those who are hardworking and diligent will receive a larger one, while those who are lazy will receive a smaller one.

By this time, the festive atmosphere in the county town was already quite strong.

Upon entering the city, everyone quickly discovered that every household had pasted up brand-new Spring Festival couplets, and some houses even had large red lanterns hanging under the eaves. The scene was filled with vibrant red, making it look exceptionally festive.

The inn where they stayed was no exception; a Spring Festival couplet was pasted on the main entrance, another Spring Festival couplet was pasted on the door leading from the main house to the backyard, and even a red Spring Festival couplet was pasted on the small door to the backyard.

In addition, several large red "Fu" characters were pasted upside down on the doors and windows facing the street, creating a festive atmosphere.

No matter where customers enter from, they can feel the joy of the host family celebrating the Chinese New Year.

The innkeeper was delighted by their arrival. So many distinguished guests during the Lunar New Year was a good omen for a prosperous business.

When he heard that they would stay until the second day of the Lunar New Year, the innkeeper was even more delighted. He thought to himself that this was exactly what every family hoped for: abundance year after year.

Therefore, the innkeeper warmly welcomed them in and, along with the inn's staff, helped them quickly settle their carriages and luggage.

"Gentlemen, you've come a long way, you must be tired from your journey. Please go back to your rooms and rest. The staff will take good care of the horses, don't worry, they will feed them the best hay!"

Everyone was indeed tired, so they thanked the innkeeper for his kindness. Except for Lai Fu and San Cai, who volunteered to stay and watch the luggage and slept in the small room in the backyard, everyone else went back to their rooms to rest.

They had all heard from the two girls, Amei and Azhu, that they would be spending the Lunar New Year in this county town this year, and would not leave until the second day of the Lunar New Year. Moreover, the lady of the house had given them a large sum of extra money as a reward.

Everyone's planning to have a good time these next couple of days, so we need to make the most of our time to sleep tonight and get plenty of rest for the next two days, right?

Pei Ji has been looking rather listless these past few days. Not only has she been lacking in energy, but her face has also turned pale, and she's even become less talkative.

Min Yueqing guessed that the little one wasn't used to the damp and cold weather here. Although the winters in the capital were cold, they weren't damp, and the rooms had underfloor heating, so it wasn't actually freezing. On the contrary, after coming to the south, the chill seeped straight into one's bones along with the wind and rain.

Although they had taken great care to keep warm, the little one was still clearly not used to the change in environment.

Moreover, this kind of acclimatization problem isn't really an illness, so Min Yueqing's special abilities are useless. She can only wait for the little one to adapt on its own, and once the body adapts, the symptoms will naturally disappear.

Min Yue knew in her mind that it wasn't a big deal and that it would be fine in a few days, but she still couldn't help feeling heartbroken. After getting off the carriage, she carried the little one all the way into the room, not letting his feet touch the ground.

He then hurriedly said to Amei, "Go and ask the waiter to bring up some hot water, and while you're at it, borrow their kitchen to cook a pot of Job's tears and ginseng porridge."

Seeing that the young master had been listless for the past two days, Ah Mei was extremely worried. Upon hearing this, she immediately agreed.

Min Yueqing gently helped the little one take off his outer clothes, tucked him into the quilt, and then sat on the edge of the bed. She touched the little one's hands and found that they were warm and not cold.

Pei Ji felt his eyelids were heavy, as if they were stuck together, but he could feel his mother's movements and knew that she was worried, so he tried hard to open his eyes.

But this action, which is usually easy to do, is unusually difficult today for some reason.

Min Yueqing saw that the little baby's eyes were trembling violently, as if there was a natural telepathic connection between mother and child. She strangely sensed the little baby's thoughts and couldn't help but feel great pity for him.

Min Yueqing couldn't help but gently stroke the little one's forehead twice and said softly, "It's okay, go to sleep, you'll feel better when you wake up."

Upon hearing this, the little one's eyelids gradually stopped trembling, and his breathing slowly became steady.

Min Yueqing gently placed the little one's hand back into the quilt, tucked the quilt in again, and sat by the bed watching over him.