Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 181: On Tea

Captain Jia applied the Watermelon Frost spray all day.

The next day, he stood before the bathroom mirror, sticking out his tongue to inspect it.

The results were a pleasant surprise—the canker sore that had tormented him for over a month had shrunk by more than half. The ghastly white ulcer had turned a faint pink, and the glaring red swelling around it had subsided considerably.

"This stuff actually works?" he muttered to himself as he unscrewed the small porcelain bottle of Watermelon Frost, dipped a bamboo stick in, and gently applied a little more to the sore.

This time, there was only a slight sting as the powder touched the ulcer, nowhere near as unbearable as it had been the day before.

At breakfast, for the first time in ages, he drank a large bowl of hot congee and even dared to eat the spicy pickled cabbage his wife had made.

His wife watched in astonishment as her husband wolfed down his food. "Is that medicine really so miraculous?"

Captain Jia wiped his mouth and grinned. "It is! It's incredible! If I'd known how well it worked, I wouldn't have suffered for a whole month!"

What he didn't know was that,

if he had gone to the clinic a month earlier, the Watermelon Frost wouldn't have even been produced yet.

At lunch in the work cafeteria, Captain Jia specifically ordered a portion of braised pork belly, stuffing his face until it was greasy.

He was determined to make up for all the meat he had missed out on over the past month.

The vice-captain came over with his tray and sat down, asking in surprise, "Captain, is your sore all better?"

"Almost!" Captain Jia proudly pulled the small porcelain bottle from his pocket. "This stuff right here. Just two applications and it's nearly gone!"

Wang Qiang took the bottle and looked at it. "Watermelon Frost? Isn't this sold in every pharmacy?"

"This is different," Captain Jia said smugly. "I bought this at a traditional Chinese medicine clinic. It's especially effective."

As he spoke, he shoved another piece of braised pork into his mouth, completely ignoring the faint sting from his canker sore.

After their afternoon patrol, Captain Jia called out to his team, "Let's go! My treat tonight! We're celebrating the death of my damn canker sore!"

The group went to their usual open-air food stall.

Captain Jia ordered a table full of spicy dishes and several bottles of ice-cold beer.

The first bite of spicy crayfish was a thrilling, intense flavor he hadn't experienced in a long time. He relished every bite.

"Captain, you should probably take it easy on the drinks," someone advised. "Your sore just healed…"

"It's fine!" Captain Jia, his face already flushed red, raised his glass. "With this medicine, what's there to be afraid of! Come on, cheers!"

At two in the morning, Captain Jia was jolted awake by a sharp, intense pain.

He clutched his left cheek and rushed to the bathroom. One look in the mirror revealed the horror—not only had the canker sore returned, but it was even worse than before. The ulcer had nearly doubled in size, and the edges were so swollen they shone red.

"HISS—" He sucked in a sharp breath and quickly found the Watermelon Frost, but there was only a tiny bit of powder left in the bottle.

He carefully poured all of it onto the sore, which brought only a slight bit of relief.

When he got back to bed, his wife, who had been woken up, asked, "What's wrong? Is it hurting again?"

"Mmm…" Captain Jia mumbled, his heart filled with regret.

'I shouldn't have gone so crazy last night.'

At the same time, his reverence for the Watermelon Frost had vanished.

"'It only treats the symptoms, not the root cause…' he sighed, deciding to buy another bottle of Watermelon Frost the next day.

'I'll just use it as a painkiller.'

...

Ding Aiguo and his son, Ding Kaifang, arrived at the clinic and called for Li Xu to get in their car.

The driver drove out of the city and into a scenic area in the suburbs.

After getting out of the car,

Li Xu saw a large boulder with two large words carved into it: Li Garden.

Below them were a signature and a date.

Entering Li Garden, he was greeted by a winding stone path. It was flanked by immaculately trimmed shrubs, interspersed with a few Hall's crabapple trees.

It was autumn, and the crabapple blossoms had already withered, their remaining leaves drifting down in the gentle breeze.

At the end of the stone path, the view suddenly opened up to a clear pond. A handful of fish darted back and forth, shattering the reflection of the sky and clouds on the water's surface.

Beside the pond stood an old tree with gnarled, powerful branches.

Beneath the tree was a stone table with stone stools. A Go board with its nineteen-by-nineteen grid was carved into the tabletop, and black and white jade pieces were still scattered across it, as if the owner had just been in the middle of a game.

What a pleasant and comfortable place.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps approached.

An elderly man in a long indigo gown emerged from a covered walkway, holding a book in his right hand, his left hand clasped behind his back.

Upon seeing the group, he laughed heartily. "Welcome, everyone, to Li Garden. My name is Li Gui."

Ding Aiguo strode forward and shook the old man's hand. "My friend, I hope you've been well. I'm afraid we'll have to trouble you to cook for us this time."

He turned to the side to make the introductions. "This is Doctor Li Xu. Don't let his age fool you; his medical skills are superb. He's the one who cured my wife and granddaughter. And this one needs no introduction, my son, Ding Kaifang."

Li Xu bowed respectfully. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Elder Li."

"Haha…" Li Gui laughed. "To receive such high praise from Aiguo, you must be truly skilled. I'm not inviting you to a free meal today. After we eat, how about you take my pulse? I haven't been feeling well lately."

"I would be honored."

Li Xu agreed.

Although he hadn't taken his pulse yet, Li Gui's complexion was clearly dull and sallow—a classic sign of liver problems.

The four of them sat down in the courtyard.

It was still early,

so there was no rush for lunch.

As the host, Li Gui began by brewing some fragrant tea for everyone.

"Gentlemen, please sample this pot of tea first. See if you notice anything special about it."

Li Gui said, gesturing to three rustic iron kettles on the tea table.

He took one of the iron kettles, then brought out two well-seasoned Zisha pots. He placed the same type of Longjing tea leaves into them and began to pour water, explaining, "Today, we'll use the same tea leaves and teapots, but with water from different sources. Let's experience for ourselves the topic that tea lovers have debated for a thousand years."

Once the teapots were full, Li Gui put on the lids and continued, "Choosing the right water may seem simple, but there's a great deal of knowledge behind it. Tea masters of old studied water quality in extreme depth, and there are numerous treatises dedicated solely to the subject. What's even more fascinating is that from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the debate over the best water for brewing tea raged for over a thousand years without a definitive conclusion."

"So, which water is truly best for tea? Most people agree with Lu Yu's view in *The Classic of Tea*: mountain spring water is best, river water is second, and well water is the worst. This is a classification by source. Besides these, there's also rainwater, snowmelt, and modern options like tap water and distilled water. Which one is truly superior?"

After hearing this, Ding Kaifang had a flash of inspiration and joked, "With all the industrial pollution nowadays, I'm afraid the 'water from the heart of the Yangtze River' that the ancients prized wouldn't even qualify to compete, would it?"

This jest made everyone laugh heartily.

Li Gui smiled and picked up the thread of conversation. "It is precisely because good water is so rare that a special profession arose in ancient times: professional water transport. This trade began in the Ming Dynasty. According to Li Rihua's *Yunquan Agreement*, services for transporting high-quality spring water already existed, complete with written contracts. It was a business that catered specifically to discerning tea connoisseurs."

"Today, this ancient trade has vanished in the mainland, but in some places, professional water transporters still exist. They must not only know how to find high-quality springs but also possess the skill to judge water quality. Their experience tells them that the best spring water is found far from human settlements, maintains a constant temperature year-round, and is sweet without being bitingly cold."

"Tea brewed with such water fully brings out the tea's aroma, and the brew itself is mellow and smooth, neither astringent nor harsh. From the same spring, the water quality is at its peak in autumn. There's also a folk legend that 'midday water,' collected at noon on the Dragon Boat Festival, is of the highest quality. It can be stored for years without spoiling and costs twice the usual price."