祝芷媛
7月17日,杭城正式入伏,熱氣裹挾了整座城市,行人步履匆匆,渴望一口清涼的茶來緩解這樣的暑意。
“叮鈴鈴”,上午10點,一個寫著“最美涼茶鋪”的簡易小車攤準時出現在杭州長明寺巷。
守攤人叫顧忠根,今年已經80歲高齡了。每年三伏天,顧老伯都會推著小車,從上午10點到下午4點在小區門口擺出涼茶攤,免費給居民和行人提供降暑涼茶,直到白天的暑熱退去,他才推著小車離開。
這個擺了41年的涼茶鋪,近日在中國美術學院“夢想改造家”隊員的幫助下,以全新的面貌出現在小巷里。高顏值的茶鋪加上顧老伯的愛心,給今年夏天的杭城送來格外的清涼。
涼茶鋪的故事,起源于顧忠根的外婆在下倉橋開的一家茶食糖果店。
每到三伏天,老太太會煮好茶水免費提供給客人飲用。無論是熟悉的街坊還是陌生的游客,都會來討一杯茶喝,“更多的還是那些拉車運貨的體力勞動者。那時候買飲料貴,能喝上一口免費的茶水,再舒服不過了?!?/p>
1976年,顧忠根一家搬到了清泰街518號,母親在家門口擺起了餛飩攤。當時,顧忠根的父親在臨安做一名油漆工,閑時經常幫村民干點活,為了表示感謝,大家會時不時地送他一些茶葉。母親就把那些茶葉拿來泡茶,免費給過路的人喝。
15年前,顧忠根一家又搬到鍋子弄10號樓,這一次的涼茶鋪傳承人變成了他自己。他把攤子擺在了小區門口,“這是一件好事……母親去世前還和我說,這個攤要替她擺下去?!鳖欀腋f。
顧忠根早上5點多就起床,利用峰谷電燒好開水,灌滿10個暖水瓶?!懊繜粔兀家壬先姆昼?,一大早要聽開水壺響上10次。”顧忠根說。等水涼下來后,他再把茶葉、陳皮、青蒿、六月霜、白菊花、仁丹、十滴水等10種中草藥,按比例混合,做成一缸“老底子”的杭州涼茶。年紀漸長,他的行動越來越不方便,每當有人勸他不要這么辛苦時,他總是笑瞇瞇地說:“為人民服務?!?/p>
顧忠根的愛心涼茶鋪,這些年來一直是杭城一道亮麗的風景線,被贊譽為“杭州最美涼茶鋪”,甚至有不少外地游客慕名前來體驗。這道最美的風景線,近日也吸引了一支美麗的隊伍。
中國美術學院有一個“夢想改造家”小分隊,他們致力于用自己的雙手,讓藝術設計公益幫助在社會上生活困難的群體。在一次團隊會議時,有隊員問插畫師孫楠:“你是杭州人,有沒有什么可以改造的項目推薦?”孫楠就想起顧忠根的愛心涼茶鋪。
一番討論后,年輕人一拍即合,主動提出要幫助顧大伯改造一下他的小小涼茶鋪,讓他能夠更方便更長久地繼續自己的愛心事業。
顧忠根原先的茶攤是一個簡陋的不銹鋼雙層小推車,上面擺著一個大搪瓷茶缸。茶缸里面裝著的是顧忠根自己泡的茶,車上還堆著不少一次性紙杯。
為了更科學更人性化地設計涼茶鋪,“夢想改造家”小分隊的同學們前期進行了大量的走訪和調查。
“根據顧老伯的要求,我們給小推車加上了把手,還把原來車子的下半部分用PVC板圍成了一個收納的空間,用磁鐵把小黑板固定在上面,翻下來就可以當作收納空間的門?!睂O楠說。
為了解決原來小推車不方便挪動的問題,同學們把自行車把手安裝在了小推車上,這樣不僅活動自如,而且還保留了撥一撥就響的小車鈴,輪子上也安裝了小小機關,輕輕扣下就能防止車輪滑動,安全省心。
“因為每次燒完水都要自然晾涼,我們換成兩只小的茶缸,可以讓水晾起來更快一些。另外顧大伯起先用的是搪瓷缸,還有飲茶人在上面寫著‘好人長壽,后來因為穿底,就換成了鐵制的,這次我們還是把它換回搪瓷茶缸。”孫楠說。
茶缸是整個涼茶鋪的精髓,同學們在美化搪瓷缸的過程中花了不少心思?!白蠲罌霾琛彼膫€字的底色經過反復斟酌才決定,最后決定使用跟整體攤位色調一致的墨綠。而且光一個“茶”字,同學們就設計了好幾個極具藝術感的版本。
顧忠根的涼茶配方是從外婆那里傳下來的,用了40多年。因為清熱降暑又好喝,常常有路人來詢問配方。小分隊的同學了解到這個情況以后,直接將配方畫在了一塊小招牌上,招牌上每一棵植物都是同學們親手設計的。
同學們還在小推車的一角安上了自動取杯裝置,讓行人們可以自助取水。
當然,小分隊的改造不止于涼茶鋪本身。同學們為攤主顧忠根量身打造了一條袖口印有茶葉的T恤和米白色的大圍裙。在制作的時候,光是為了胸口上的幾個小字,同學們就廢掉了兩三條同款圍裙,最后提交給顧大伯的是反復試驗后最滿意的一條。
對于前來幫忙的志愿者,同學們也貼心定制了一批好看又舒適的“制服”——胸前印著“最美涼茶攤”幾個大字。
這一場改造,前后花了兩周左右時間。在杭州的入伏之日,顧忠根就推著小推車全新出攤了。
“不僅僅為了人而設計,還要為了社會而設計,能夠把所學的東西運用到服務社會上,這是導師希望我們做到,也是我們正在努力做到的?!毙》株犼爢T徐曦說道。
據了解,這幾年,杭州上城區長明寺巷社區的20多名志愿者也主動來幫忙。“天氣熱,老人會漸漸吃不消,我們每天有兩個志愿者來涼茶攤幫忙,希望傳承這份愛心?!?1歲的志愿者呂葉根說。
一個傳承了三代的涼茶鋪,一位堅守著的愛心傳承人,一群有設計夢想的同學,一場愛心共通的援助,在這個夏天,為杭城送來了一抹清涼。
Family Continues Free Tea Drink Service
By Zhu Zhiyuan
When the hottest days of the summer began on July 17 this year according to the lunar calendar, the 80-year-old Gu Zhonggen pushed his tea cart to the gate of the residential community where he lives and began the familys free tea service for passersby.
The hottest days of the summer is a Chinese tradition closely associated with the lunar calendar. The hottest days are usually divided in three sections. When the first day starts is clearly indicated in the lunar calendar. It moves around in early and middle July. In 2017, the hottest summer days started on July 12. This year, it was July 17. The duration also varies. Usually the period lasts 40 days: 10 in the first phase, 20 in the second, and 10 again in the last. One needs to check the lunar calendar for sure. Just like other important traditional days such as 24 solar terms and festivals on the lunar calendar, the beginning and the ending of the hottest days are also mentioned in Chinas modern-day weather forecast. People have traditional ways to cope with the summer heat. Special food and herbal beverage as well as TCM therapies for chronic winter medical conditions are all part of the ways Chinese people cope with the hottest summer days. In the hottest summer days, Gu runs his service from 10 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, hottest hours of a day.
The free offer of herbal tea to passersby in the street has been a tradition maintained by Gus family for three generations. His maternal grandmother ran a candy and tea shop in a downtown lane. When the hottest days of the summer began, she offered free herbal tea to passersby. Neighbors as well as visitors often came to have a free drink. But the grandma had a target group of clients: passing laborers pulling cargo carts through the city. Back then, Hangzhou had few wide streets. Bridges, lanes, narrow streets were the essential components of the cityscape and cargo carts were a key part of the citys logistic system that distributed the goods to retailers in tiny shops.
In 1976, the family moved to a house in Qingtai Street. Gus mom started a small snack food business in front of her house. Back then, Gus father was a house decorator who followed work in Linan, a rural county back then, now a district of the city. When he wasnt busy with work, he helped neighbors do some chores and received tealeaves from them. The father brought the tea home. In the hottest days of the summer, Gus mother prepared herbal tea and provided the drink free to passersby. Fifteen years ago, the family moved again to an apartment building. Gu carries on the family free tea service at the front gate of the residential community. “My mom asked me to keep doing it before she passed away,” said the 80-year-old.
If the free tea service at the house of Qingtai Street 518 is a point of the familys generosity in the hottest summer days, we need to go back more than 40 years old to see the family tradition. And if we trace further back to the years when Gus maternal grandmother operated her summer tea service at the candy shop, the generosity is time-honored much longer.
The familys recipe of the herbal tea has ten ingredients. In the hottest summer days, Gu begins to boil water in an electric kettle at 5 in the morning when electricity is much cheaper. He fills ten thermos bottles.
Local media has long since covered the Gu familys free tea service in the hottest summer days. Gu is a hero, in many peoples eye. Some people go out of their ways to visit the tea stall to meet the hero and enjoy a free drink. Volunteers have assisted Gu as the man is growing old. In 2018, a group of designer volunteers in Hangzhou who call themselves dream reformers helped redesign and rebuilt the cart Gu uses for the service.
In the past the wheeled cart was a simple stainless steel structure. A big enameled water pail for the herbal tea sat on the platform. And disposable paper cups were also heaped on the top platform for visitors. To make the cart easy to maneuver, the team installed a handlebar and a bell on the cart. Now the cart uses a simple break system so that the cart can stay motionless and secure in one place. The enameled pail is replaced with two smaller containers: easy to let the boiled water cool off and easy to stash the containers away into the space under the top inside the cart. The recipe is now copied onto a small bulletin board so that those who want it can see it and copy it themselves. Gu now wears a new apron especially designed by the team for the tea service. The team also made special uniforms for volunteers who help out at the tea stall. It took the team two weeks to do research and design and make.
In recent years, volunteers from the community have helped Gu out with the free tea service. Two volunteers per day help at the stall. “The hottest days are challenging to the old man whose health is declining. We volunteers come here to help and hope to carry on Gu familys generosity,” said the 71-year-old Lyu Yegen.
With the free herbal tea of the Gu family and a great variety of similar generosities from the general public, the city is really cool in the summer.