十代人接力烹茶濟(jì)行人

徐銘懌

一個(gè)免費(fèi)茶攤經(jīng)營(yíng)300余年

寧波市寧海縣前童童松達(dá)家族的“愛(ài)心茶攤”已傳承十代，四處流動(dòng)擺茶攤，烹茶以濟(jì)行人。2020年10月2日，“最美誠(chéng)信浙江人”童松達(dá)的茶鋪在寧?？h前童古鎮(zhèn)景區(qū)開(kāi)張。

在古鎮(zhèn)景區(qū)的石板路旁，木質(zhì)攤位已經(jīng)擺上，攤位上飄著一面旗子，上面掛著一個(gè)大大的“茶”字，嶄新的攤位上密密麻麻地鋪著裝滿(mǎn)酸梅湯的灌裝袋和兩個(gè)不銹鋼大桶。攤位前，童松達(dá)正拿著漏斗，從不銹鋼桶里舀出茶水，小心地往灌裝袋里裝，一袋一袋，一個(gè)早上就裝了500余袋，一桶茶水很快見(jiàn)底了。

“過(guò)路人，來(lái)這喝口茶，坐下歇歇腳！”見(jiàn)有路人經(jīng)過(guò)，童松達(dá)起身，將罐裝袋遞給路人。這天，童松達(dá)準(zhǔn)備了兩種茶水，一種是酸梅湯，一種是香薷。一個(gè)酸的，一個(gè)甜的，都很解渴。

天熱熬涼茶，天冷備姜湯，今年82歲的童松達(dá)已是這童家“愛(ài)心茶攤”的第十任“攤主”了。如何讓茶攤的愛(ài)心接力走得更遠(yuǎn)？每年，前童古鎮(zhèn)景區(qū)都是人流的聚集地，為此，前童鎮(zhèn)將“愛(ài)心茶攤”引進(jìn)了到古鎮(zhèn)景區(qū)，擺下固定的攤位，請(qǐng)童松達(dá)、志愿者和村民等多方力量共同經(jīng)營(yíng)免費(fèi)茶攤，眾人參與，傳遞愛(ài)心。

前童鎮(zhèn)還專(zhuān)門(mén)定制了3000個(gè)用于裝茶的袋子，每一袋的容量是200毫升，袋子上印上了童松達(dá)一家燒茶送茶的事跡，還繪制了相應(yīng)的圖案，讓童氏家族送茶的故事廣為傳播。

煮茶送水不能斷

劈啪作響的火苗上是一口漆黑锃亮的鐵鍋，土灶前、屋里彌漫著霧氣，陳皮、甘草、烏梅、薄荷葉、山楂等5味藥材混合著冰糖倒入沸水里時(shí)，屋內(nèi)升騰起絲絲沁甜的氣息。早上7點(diǎn)，前童鎮(zhèn)鹿分村的童松達(dá)一家就忙活開(kāi)了?！疤鞜幔€是煮酸梅湯吧！”童松達(dá)吩咐大兒媳婦胡亞麗、孫女童曉娜。

灶臺(tái)前，胡亞麗和童曉娜一個(gè)放藥材，一個(gè)不停地?cái)嚢?灶臺(tái)后，童松達(dá)盯著灶堂里的火苗，不停地加著柴火。等上20多分鐘，一鍋酸梅湯便煮好了。放涼后，家人一起將它倒入鐵鍋，帶上紙杯，捎上椅子，用電動(dòng)三輪車(chē)載著，向古鎮(zhèn)景區(qū)出發(fā)了。

路廊燒茶，是寧海鄉(xiāng)間善舉習(xí)俗，歷史悠久。前童鎮(zhèn)上的一處集貿(mào)市場(chǎng)黃洋市，自明清以來(lái)，每月逢農(nóng)歷初二、初七，便商賈云集，車(chē)馬川流不息。行旅者遠(yuǎn)道而來(lái)，在此歇腳消暑，不知從什么時(shí)候起，街邊老房的路廊下便出現(xiàn)了送茶人的身影。

“記不清了，反正就這么一代代傳下來(lái)了?！北粏?wèn)及送茶多少年時(shí)，童松達(dá)擺擺手，笑了笑。在村民眼里，童家免費(fèi)送茶是整個(gè)前童的集體記憶。走到鎮(zhèn)口一問(wèn)“送茶的童家”，村民都會(huì)搶著指路。

“等我熬不動(dòng)了，茶攤就交給你們了?！辈钄偳埃蛇_(dá)語(yǔ)重心長(zhǎng)地告訴童曉娜?！盃敔敺判?，茶攤我會(huì)一直守著的?！蓖瘯阅日f(shuō)道。童家就是這樣言傳身教，培養(yǎng)一代代煮茶人。

童松達(dá)記得，7歲那年起，每到夏天，父親童嗣渭就會(huì)帶著他每天起早煮茶。父親肩挑著兩個(gè)水桶，他和兩個(gè)兄弟跟著，大約走1公里就到了黃洋集市的路廊。他幫父親把茶水倒在石臼里，并在邊上放上勺子和碗，供過(guò)路行者自行取茶。每天忙完農(nóng)事，他們還會(huì)回來(lái)看看，如果石臼里沒(méi)水了，就再回趟家運(yùn)水補(bǔ)足。

日復(fù)一日的煮茶送水，童松達(dá)早已習(xí)慣。成年娶妻后，他便接下了“茶攤”以及那句“熬茶送水到哪代都不能斷”的家訓(xùn)。

童松達(dá)是在族譜里真正讀懂這句話(huà)的意義。

在《塔山童氏族譜》卷一《童維泰傳》中有這么一句話(huà)：“黃洋市路廊，過(guò)客久悵望梅，公獨(dú)創(chuàng)辦什器燒茶，以解人渴，四世相傳到今?！蓖S泰生于清乾隆三十六年（1771年），他是童家第五代燒茶人。而在族譜中，童維泰的后人童錫楷、童邦標(biāo)也分別有“每歲自夏及秋，煮茶濟(jì)渴至今”“每歲夏月，必親至黃洋市烹茶以濟(jì)行人，至老不輟”的記錄。

“烹茶以濟(jì)行人”正是第七代煮茶人童邦標(biāo)留下的遺囑。童邦標(biāo)是童達(dá)松的太叔公。據(jù)此推算，到童松達(dá)一輩，童家人已義務(wù)燒茶整整十代人！

再難，也要把茶煮下去

在童松達(dá)的記憶里，父親帶著他和兄弟一起送水，就是在物色下一代煮茶人，勉力培養(yǎng)“茶攤主”。童松達(dá)也是如此。

童松達(dá)原本有兩個(gè)兒子，從小帶著一起煮茶送水，接班人是不愁的，但要持之以恒地做好一件事總會(huì)有意想不到的困難。大兒子意外去世，緊接著，大兒子的女兒也患病，花掉了家里大部分積蓄，并不富裕的日子變得捉襟見(jiàn)肘。幾年前，小兒子外出務(wù)工，童松達(dá)也因腦梗無(wú)法長(zhǎng)時(shí)間走路，擺攤越發(fā)吃力……

煮茶送水雖然簡(jiǎn)單，但要十代人不間斷地維系300余年，其間的艱辛是旁人難以想象的。

童松達(dá)是一位普通的農(nóng)民，一輩子靠種田為生，平時(shí)過(guò)日子也是七省八省的，可他每年煮茶的原料就要花好幾千元錢(qián)，多的時(shí)候，一天要煮上七八十公斤茶水。

“再難，也要把茶煮下去?！蓖蛇_(dá)拖著行動(dòng)不便的身體堅(jiān)持煮茶，胡亞麗看不過(guò)去，主動(dòng)承擔(dān)起煮茶的重任。童松達(dá)逢人總說(shuō)：“這下茶攤后繼有人了?！?/p>

這幾天，家里的柴火不多了，胡亞麗便帶著童曉娜去村里廢舊房屋前撿拾，一去就是半天。“自己撿些木頭燒火，省錢(qián)。只要費(fèi)些體力就可以了！”以前童松達(dá)上山砍柴一般凌晨2點(diǎn)出門(mén)，擔(dān)75公斤左右的柴下山，傍晚5點(diǎn)左右回家，特別累。胡亞麗有點(diǎn)不好意思地說(shuō)，比起上山砍柴燒水的辛苦，她們母女倆做的這些根本不算什么。

除了撿拾柴火，每年的六七月份，胡亞麗還要專(zhuān)門(mén)跑到鎮(zhèn)里的楊加山上采摘一種叫香薷的草藥，曬干備著，用來(lái)煮茶，可祛暑化濕。

童曉娜加入后，茶攤變得講究起來(lái)，夏茶變成了酸梅湯，冬茶換成了姜茶。她還種了一點(diǎn)洛神花，自己采摘曬干，以便節(jié)約煮茶成本。

茶攤背后有很多暖心人

童松達(dá)送茶的幾十年里，前童鎮(zhèn)發(fā)生了巨變。1973年梁皇山至前童鎮(zhèn)的公路通車(chē)，1980年前童鎮(zhèn)到寧?？h城的公路通車(chē)，黃洋市路廊人流逐漸減少。因此，童松達(dá)的茶攤也換過(guò)不少地方，有時(shí)放到古鎮(zhèn)門(mén)口，有時(shí)放到寧?？h城的東門(mén)白嶠嶺、西門(mén)路廊等地。隨著前童古鎮(zhèn)開(kāi)發(fā)保護(hù)日見(jiàn)成效，童松達(dá)便又把茶攤搬回了古鎮(zhèn)景區(qū)內(nèi)。

這幾年的煮茶送茶，胡亞麗、童曉娜一直在幫忙。就在去年，寧海一戶(hù)姓朱的人家聽(tīng)說(shuō)了童家的事，把一張酸梅湯配方交給了童曉娜?！斑@秘方很多人想要，但都被他們拒絕了，卻免費(fèi)給了我們！”童松達(dá)當(dāng)時(shí)就告訴童曉娜，好好熬茶，讓“茶攤”一直開(kāi)下去。

按照配方去買(mǎi)材料，但其中有幾味中藥鎮(zhèn)上配不到，童曉娜就跑到寧海城區(qū)的藥店去買(mǎi)?！坝泻脦状?，我一次性買(mǎi)了十幾包，可能數(shù)量有點(diǎn)多，店里的中藥師好奇地問(wèn)了一句‘買(mǎi)這么多干嘛？”童曉娜回憶道，當(dāng)時(shí)她沒(méi)多想，就說(shuō)買(mǎi)回家煮，煮好免費(fèi)分給路人喝。沒(méi)想到，中藥師聽(tīng)了以后，直接以成本價(jià)算給了她，不賺一分錢(qián)，后來(lái)幾次再去買(mǎi)，就故意算低價(jià)格，相當(dāng)于半賣(mài)半送。

酸梅湯里，有一味藥叫洛神花，每公斤賣(mài)到100元左右，這使得煮茶成本翻了好幾倍，而童曉娜種的洛神花數(shù)量根本不夠，這讓童松達(dá)壓力頗大。鹿分村一戶(hù)姓泮的村民得知后，便在自家田里種洛神花，收集好花朵，曬干后給童松達(dá)送來(lái)，以助節(jié)約“茶攤”成本。

“每次來(lái)，她都拿著滿(mǎn)滿(mǎn)一袋，話(huà)不多說(shuō)，放下就走！”這些畫(huà)面童松達(dá)記在心里。

“有這么多人幫忙，我們更有信心了?！蓖蛇_(dá)說(shuō)，小時(shí)候鄉(xiāng)親們就捐贈(zèng)茶鈿支持著他們，5元、10元的，他感覺(jué)到，有很多人在支撐著這個(gè)茶攤。或許，正是從四面八方匯聚而來(lái)的小小支持，才匯聚成了300年風(fēng)雨送茶路最溫暖的前行動(dòng)力。

2020年“十一”長(zhǎng)假期間，童松達(dá)嘗試了“灌裝派送”的新送茶形式：將煮好的酸梅湯放入鍋中冷卻，然后灌入食品灌裝袋中，分給鎮(zhèn)里的老人小孩們以及游客喝?！斑@些袋子是鎮(zhèn)里提供的，上面印著大大的‘茶字，還有‘烹茶以濟(jì)行人的承諾。”童松達(dá)表示，未來(lái)，他還要把送茶延續(xù)下去，服務(wù)更多的過(guò)路人。

300 Years of Family Free Tea Service in Qiantong Town

by Xu Mingyi

October 2， 2020 saw 82-year-old Tong Songda resume his free tea offer at a convenient spot to tourists at Qiantong Town， now a tourist attraction， in Ninghai， coastal county in Zhejiang Province.

The Tong family in town has run a free tea service for more than 300 years. Tong Songda is the 10th-generation free tea provider of the family.

Tong Songda began to be engaged in this family undertaking at 7. It was a routine he followed during the service season. His father carried two buckets of tea water with a shoulder pole for about a kilometer to a roadside pavilion near a market. Tong Songda and his elder brother tagged along. The boys helped the father emptied the tea water into a stone urn and left a ladle and bowls there. Then they went home. After finishing work in farmland， they came back to take a look at the urn. If it was empty， they would fetch more water. After he grew up and got married， he took over the service， which has been in his hands for decades now.

The family started the free tea service ten generations ago. Volume One of Tong Clan Genealogy has a special biography of their ancestor Tong Weitai， born in 1771. When Tong Weitai took over the familys free tea service， it had been in the family for five generations. The biography specifies the pavilion as the service spot and explains why： road passengers took a break at the roadside pavilion and often felt thirsty. Someone in the Tong family noticed and brought tea water to the pavilion for passengers free of charge. The 82-year-old Tong is the 10th-generation man in charge of the service.

In the past， the service was provided in summer and autumn. Tong Bangbiao， the 7th-generation tea provider， left a will saying that the family should provide free tea to sooth the thirsty of travelers. The will has been carried on faithfully.

Tong Songda understands that his father wanted the two sons to continue with the familys free tea service when he and his brother were boys. He intended to bring his own two sons up to continue the free service. His elder son died in an accident. His daughter fell ill and he paid medical bills， which exhausted family fortune. A few years ago， his younger son went away to work somewhere else. The old man was stricken down by cerebral infarction. He is never fully recovered. He shuffles.

His daughter-in-law Hu Yali has taken over the free tea service. And his granddaughter is also in. The girl has promised her grandfather that she will carry the service on. The two women have brought something new to the tea service. Free tea is now offered in winter. The menu is now expanded： plum juice in the summer and ginger tea in winter.

The world has changed a great deal since Tong Songda put himself in charge of the free tea service decades ago. In 1973 a highway from Qiantong to Lianghuanshan became operational. In 1980， a highway from Qiantong to the county capital of Ninghai started public services. The two highways greatly reduced the foot traffic at the roadside pavilion. To cater to the changes， Tong Songda moved his roadside tea stand several times. As tourism in Qiantong is booming， his tea service is now back to the ancient town with the assistance of the town government.

The familys free tea service wouldnt be able to run without the help of neighbors and the town government.

Tong Songda is a farmer. The tea service needs thousands of yuan a year even though it is only a six-month operation.

In 2019， a family surnamed Zhu in Ninghai learned about the Tong familys legendary tea service and donated a secret recipe for making plum juice free of charge to the granddaughter Tong Lina. The juice is actually a tea of herbs. Many herbal ingredients arent available in Qiantong. After learning about the free tea service， a traditional herbal shop in downtown Ninghai now charges a symbolic price only for the ingredients the daughter-in-law purchases from the shop. Tong Lina helps by growing an herb in the familys farmland， as the herb is too expensive to buy from herbal stores. But the harvest isnt big enough to sustain the tea service. After learning about the supply problem， a neighbor grows the herbal crop in her own land. Now she regularly donates her herbal harvest to the tea service. “She always comes with a bagful of the herb. She doesnt talk much. She just leaves the bag with me and goes away，” Tong Songda says. Other neighbors also chip in to sustain the service.

The government helps too. During the golden vacation in early October， the government chipped in by donating 300 plastic bags a day so that the plum juice could come out in bags， a measure adopted to guard against any possibility of Covid-19 infection. The government wants to help largely because the 300-year-old free tea service is now an additional attraction of the ancient town.