No matter how hot the summer, no matter how cold the winter, I wake up early in the morning and must drink a glass of water. This has been a habit since childhood. Back in my hometown, I was always called out of bed by my mother. Before school, I would step on the spring dew or the autumn frost, leading an old water buffalo to the narrow ridges of the fields or the green grasslands on the slopes to graze. With sleepy eyes barely open, I would go to the water vat, scoop out a large ladle of water, and gulp it down. The spring water, after a night of settling, was clear and sweet, instantly refreshing me like a cool tonic. Now, can I still drink the tap water in the city raw? I drink tea. Waking up slowly, seeing the light of day again, I pick up my teacup. I drink all kinds of tea—strong Tieguanyin, bitter kuding tea, lightly sweet Junshan eyebrow, faintly fragrant Dahongpao—whatever is available. They are all overnight teas, green, red, yellow, gray-brown, or clear, all carrying a cold, clear chill and a faint cold fragrance. Overnight tea has a kind of cold plum-like, utterly unique flavor. I drink it in one or two gulps, hearing the tea water cascade from my throat down to my stomach with a clear, ringing sound. I use overnight tea to wash my dusty entrails; I use overnight tea to wash away yesterday's lingering dreams.
Morning tea is a very refined and elegant life. Early in the morning, brewing tea and boiling water, sitting quietly in a secluded room, holding the teacup lid, pursing red lips to inhale the rising tea fragrance—who, lacking such fortune, can enjoy this elegance? Like me, after drinking this cup of tea, I must hurry off to make a living. If I am slow, life will be snatched away by others. No one dares to dawdle. Actually, I could ask my wife to get up early and boil some water. In the past, my wife was willing. She used to say she would go through fire and water for me, let alone boil water. But now we have long passed our first seven-year itch, the second is also over, and we are currently in the third. If we are not careful, we might not make it through. I dare not casually order anyone around anymore! Now, who can shout loudly at the fifth watch: "Wife, get up quickly and boil some water for my tea!" My wife would not ruin her own peaceful dream to fulfill mine in the early morning, but she is willing to brew tea for me the night before. Knowing my habits, every night before bed, she boils a small pot of water, just enough to fill one teacup, grabs a small handful of Tieguanyin or coarse tea leaves from our hometown, puts them in my Chinese red teacup, covers it, and lets it cool overnight. The fragrant steam does not rise; it all lingers and circulates within the small teacup. The tea aroma escapes from the leaves, naturally rising with the heat, but now the heat cannot escape, all turning around inside the cup. Thus, the tea fragrance returns to the water, settling and becoming introverted.
Overnight tea lacks the张扬 aromatic fragrance of hot tea, but it may be richer and more mellow. Facing the window where sparrows chirp, watching the passionate sun rise, you cannot help but sigh: What a hot world! Cool yourself down first! Then you think of drinking overnight tea. Yes, overnight tea is not hot fragrance; it is cold fragrance. Xue Baochai takes the Cold Fragrance Pill. Xue Baochai has a cold and elegant temperament. She would certainly be a better wife than Lin Daiyu. Lin Daiyu is hot fragrance; she loves more passionately, but she likes to give "hot slaps." If you quarrel with her, she will turn on you immediately. Xue Baochai? She won't. She will "cold-process" it. She will let the tea sit overnight, offering you the cold fragrance, introverting the emotion. Don't you think Xue Baochai's love lasts longer? A lady once had a unique insight into overnight tea: "Once, by chance, she was home alone watching TV. The nanny brewed a cup of tea for her, but she forgot to drink it. The next morning, the cup of tea was still there, exactly the same, fine Biluochun. She suddenly remembered the days of drinking overnight tea. Because of love, she felt the tea he drank was so sweet and clear. Now, after many years without drinking overnight tea, she slowly finished it. The tea was cold and clear. After a night of steeping, the flavor of Biluochun had long faded, a bit bitter and bland, but she finished it nonetheless. She finally understood that she liked overnight tea back then because of love. When you love someone, everything about them is good, even the overnight tea they left behind."
Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Grand vows of love cannot withstand constant daily friction. Day after day of pots and pans, hot and heavy—how long can that heat last? Better a brief separation, cooling it like a single day that feels like three autumns, allowing the fragrance to last longer. Between colleagues, pure friendship is rare. Facing each other for three or four hours in the morning, and another three or four in the afternoon—isn't that tiresome? Not to mention competition for titles, favor from the boss, and power struggles, but simply seeing the same face every day makes one sigh: "There are no scenes in familiar places." But friendship among classmates is deep. Three or five years, boiling hot for a while, all that emotion is excited out. Then, just at the right time, they part. The emotion is stored in the universe, sealed by the lid of time, slowly cooling, slowly introverting. When tasted again, that friendship becomes sweet and exceptionally mellow. Mencius's thoughts were fragrant: "The people are the most important; the state is next; the ruler is the least important." When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he ground his teeth in anger and drew his sword: "If this old man were alive today, could he escape?" But this old man is not alive today; there is a night of a thousand years in between, so he was spared. Not only spared, but Zhu Yuanzhang also had to enshrine this old man in the position of "Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parent, Teacher." Why is that? Simply because of one word: separation. Thinkers are best kept at a distance from politicians. Only then can they appreciate each other without harming each other. In the eyes of politicians, thinkers are best as a cup of overnight tea. The thinker's overnight tea can cool the politician's groundless anger.