Birthday/Zhongli

• Sender: Zhongli
• Time/Date: 2020-12-31 (During Version 1.2)

This is the final day of the year.

Thinking back upon the years past at this time never fails to make me sigh. Mortal lives are like fish swimming amidst the rapids, or like vegetation growing beneath boulders.

They are weak yet strong, transient yet timeless... truly inscrutable.

This year has been one of many more changes than usual.

Of these variables, meeting you was the most memorable.

How will someone as unique as yourself spend days of birth?

I am well-apprised of the more common practices, but I am curious as to your method of celebration.

I am still getting used to a simple life such as this. It is a shame, but idle days do not seem to pass more easily than hectic ones.

Would you happen to have a day free? I would like to take a stroll.

With your companionship, perhaps even familiar sights may yet appear new once more.

• Sender: Zhongli
• Time/Date: 2021-12-31 (During Version 2.3)

Before I had even noticed, it is now the last day of the year.

It's a rather special day, which not only marks the end of one year, but the beginning of another. I dwell in contemplation every time this day comes.

Time, history... Everything that flows in this world comes together in the last moment of this day.

Whether strong waves or a trickle... They move on undeterred.

You've certainly been to a lot of places and done many things this year. Your presence is like a clear mirror on the earth.

A mirror can reveal a person's nature, reflect highs and lows of emotions, and illuminate the souls of heaven and earth.

On this special day, I too would like to see this world's mirror.

For someone who has journeyed for a long time, perhaps it is time to pause and take a break. If you are available, I hope we can meet up.

Conversation over tea will be sure to lift your spirits.

• Sender: Zhongli
• Time/Date: 2022-12-31 (During Version 3.3)

Yet another year is coming to an end. As per tradition, it is time to write letters to friends and reminisce about old times.

Recently, I was entrusted by Director Hu to visit Qingce Village. The village is peaceful and prosperous these days, full of joy and the bounties of nature. Nothing soothes one's heart more than such tranquil sights and the melodious sounds of the villagers' chatter. I almost felt obliged to look for someone to share in such delights, and as such, I picked a few Jueyun Chilis for you.

Eating them in the winter is conducive to health, but if spicy food is not to your liking, you may use them to decorate your room instead. The strings of red Chilis will surely add liveliness to your home.

• Sender: Zhongli
• Time/Date: 2023-12-31 (During Version 4.3)

I recently found myself with some spare time, so I visited Qiaoying Village. Firstly, to relax, and secondly, because the end of each year is a time for giving gifts to kith and kin.

The distinctive mountains of Chenyu Vale are striking, and the waters have a delicate beauty. It certainly must be counted among the top destinations for a calming stroll. Should you find yourself otherwise unoccupied in the future, you must come and see for yourself. As for myself, I enjoyed a slow walk the entire time, and before I knew it, the smoke from a hundred hearths filled my senses with the fragrance of food.

The world seeks shelter before the cold that comes with the year's ending, and now is the best time to invite a few close friends to sit around the fire, brewing a pot of hot tea and reminiscing about the past.

A mouthful of winter tea can stave off the cold and chills, and restore one's vitality.

Yet these tea leaves are quite fragile, and cannot withstand the bumps and jolts of a long journey. I shall keep them for now, and we may brew them after you have arrived.

• Sender: Zhongli
• Time/Date: 2024-12-31 (During Version 5.2)

With each passing year, as winter deepens and all things grow quiet, Liyue Harbor takes on a livelier spirit than usual.

On the streets, travelers come and go — some hurrying through the cold toward the warmth of home, some strolling with laughter to savor the festive sights, and others preoccupied with selecting gifts for the season.

Each follows their own path, their directions varied, yet all drawn by the same yearning for reunion.

Slowly steeping the moments, gently simmering the years, food has always been a vessel for emotions and memories, as well as an irreplaceable centerpiece of unity. If time allows, why not return to Liyue? Like myself, I am certain there are many friends and kin who await the chance to glimpse a familiar face along its bustling streets.

I imagine that you have gathered a wealth of culinary expertise in your many travels. Should you choose to grace us with a taste of your skills, I have no doubt this winter would feel all the more complete.

The water is on the cusp of boiling. I await your company, where stories and warmth await to be shared.

• Sender: Zhongli
• Time/Date: 2025-12-31 (During Version "Luna III")

Another year is coming to a close. Lanterns light up every street in the city, and visitors bustle along. Amid all this, the sharp winter chill seems to have lost some of its bite.

A few days ago, I heard a storyteller recite a passage that went: "The officials toil through the nights without rest, while the merchants shiver awaiting the market quest. Yet I rise long after the sun is high, for nothing beats leisure beneath the sky."

Though spoken in jest, there is a certain truth to these words if you pause to consider them, for we are not made of stone, and endless toil can easily do more harm than good. At the close of the year, it is only fitting to pause and review our journey — both to savor moments of past leisure and to bring order to the mind, thereby attaining a measure of serenity.

Another line goes, "Leisure stolen from busy times is the truest leisure of all," and I couldn't agree more.

By now, I'm sure you see where I'm coming from. In such felicitous moments, what better course than to come partake in tea, and share in the quiet pleasures of the season?