"It looks good now, but I don't know if it tastes good or not." The old farmer replied truthfully, "It's our first time to plant it, and we don't know when to harvest it or how to eat it."
"ah……"
Song You then got up, walked to the roadside, touched the bracts on the stems, tore them open a little and looked at them. While doing this, he said to the old farmer: "I mean it's almost the autumnal equinox. If we put it in Xuzhou
The harvest over there may have been finished and dried long ago. It seems that the swallows in my husband's field have been harvested for a long time, but they haven't been harvested. I thought it was because the climate here is different."
"Sir, do you recognize it?"
"I recognize it, I recognize it." Song You nodded and said to him with a smile, "Like this kind of swallow rice, you can see that the stems and leaves are dry and yellow. When you tear open the wrapping, you can see that the inside is also dry.
If it is hard and has no moisture and becomes lighter, it can be taken back. After taking it back, wipe it down one by one, find an open space to spread out a mat, and dry it in the sun. It will be like millet and can withstand storage. Remember to remember during storage.
Don't let it get wet. When eating, it can be powdered to make a paste, or it can be used to cook rice and pancakes."
"Then the little old man must remember clearly..."
"In addition, when the oatmeal is still tender, the outer coating is still green, and the whiskers are still purple, you can pick it off. At that time, it is tender and can be eaten raw, boiled in water and cooked, or even tender.
Peel the rice and use it for cooking and cooking. It can also be used to make soup without peeling and cutting it into pieces. It can be eaten in many ways and is also good for the belly."
"Oh! Sir, you helped me a lot!"
Unknowingly, the attitude of the old farmer who did not understand etiquette became respectful.
This is the instinctive and simple thought of gratitude.
"With a little effort..."
Song You still said respectfully.
Anqing Yanzi came with rice in his mouth, which was a great merit. He taught the old farmers in the area how to harvest and eat it, which gave him a little more sense of participation.
"The weather is good today. If I have some free time, I can take back the oatmeal from these two fields, so as not to get wet again if it rains tomorrow." Song You reminded again, then paused, "If I really do
If you want to thank us, just give us a stick of swallow rice, just one stick."
"How can one stick?"
The old farmer's eyes widened immediately and he came over and said: "Although the old man's family is not rich, the wheat in the field is ripe, so it's not that bad! The gentleman is a Taoist. Not to mention helping, he is just ordinary."
If you meet an old man in passing and ask for a few sticks, there is no reason to refuse!"
After saying that, he came over, bang bang bang, and broke it in the ground for a while.
"That's enough, that's enough..."
Song You quickly stopped his action: "We can't carry more than that, not to mention we just want to have a taste."
"Well."
The old farmer piled six or seven oats on the ground.
"I just wanted to ask for one, but now I'm embarrassed to accept it in vain." Song You said, putting his hand into the quilt bag and taking out a small bamboo tube. The thickness of the bamboo tube is not as thick as the little finger, and the length is only the little finger.
About half of it, but it is very exquisite, with carved patterns and embroidered clouds. "But I won't give my father-in-law any money, so I will give him the same overseas crops in return."
"oh?"
The father-in-law wanted to refuse, but when he heard what he said, he couldn't help but be stunned.
Then the Taoist opened the seal of the extremely small bamboo tube, which was much smaller than a mailbox, poured out a sesame-sized seed, and then he planted the seed on the roadside and took it out again.
I poured some water on the water bag placed next to the quilt bag.
Then I saw the seed take root and sprout, and the land that had just been moistened immediately became a little greener.
In an instant, there was a vine on the side of the road.
The vines are long and crawling on the ground.
There are green fruits on it, which are slightly larger than the thumb. In the blink of an eye, they have already turned red, like small lanterns.
The Taoist took one off and gave it to him to eat.
"This is a delicious vegetable obtained from the Lilliputian Kingdom on the lower reaches of the sea. The Lilliputian country calls it sour eggplant. It tastes slightly sour and can be eaten raw, stir-fried, cooked in soup and made into sauce. It is easy to eat. Plant in spring and harvest in summer. Although
It is not a rare delicacy, but its yield is excellent and its vitality is tenacious. If my husband likes it, he can just take the seeds and sprinkle them on any piece of wasteland. After planting, even if you don't care about it, you can eat it every day when it matures.
The endless sour eggplants can be regarded as adding some more flavor to the table, and maybe you can exchange some small money for spending."
"this……"
The old farmer couldn't help being stunned.
Looking down at the vine that had just grown on the side of the road, and the cold and real fruit in his hand, he didn't know what to say for a moment. He only knew that today he met a Taoist who really knew how to use magic.
"Thank you sir."
The old farmer took a long time to thank him, then looked at Song You's steaming little pot, and said to him: "Sir, you are an expert in magic, but today is the day when the mountain is offering sacrifices to the gods in the mountain. This is the day.
This is the only way to pay homage to the gods. In order to avoid bumping into the gods, sir, you should leave quickly after finishing your meal and resting enough."
Speaking of gods, the joy on his face suddenly darkened.
"oh?"
Song You looked at his expression and became interested: "I wonder which god my husband worships here?"
"He is the local mountain god of our mountains."
"Whose name is the mountain god?"
"Without a name or surname, he is respectfully called the God of Anle."
"I have never heard of this God of Anle. Is it a deity granted by the imperial court or a deity enshrined by the villagers?" Song You asked curiously.
Speaking of gods, the little girl also looked at him.
"It was granted by the imperial court. It was said that the mountains here are high and the forests are deep, and it is very spiritual, so it was granted the title of a mountain god. It has been more than 20 years ago."
"Since he was conferred by the imperial court, he is a serious mountain god. But why does my father-in-law look unhappy when he mentions it?"
"this……"
The old farmer subconsciously wanted to refute, but he hesitated a few words and did not refute. Instead, he said: "How dare you say this?"
"It doesn't matter." Song You smiled slightly and pretended to look around, "Although this entire mountain is the domain of the mountain god, I looked around and found that the mountain god is not here. He may be practicing elsewhere. What strange story does the old man have?
You can tell me below."
"It's not a strange story..." The old farmer hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice, "It's this mountain god who has become more and more scary recently."
"how to say?"
"When the government first built the mountain temple, the mountain god was quite honest. Although there were no changes on the mountain, he rarely caused any trouble. At most, there were people walking at night or returning from work on the mountain.
I got home late, so I met his old man by chance and was startled." The old farmer lowered his voice and told him, "But more than a year ago, a master came here and said he was ordered by some national master to get rid of him.
Damn it, there was some light on the mountain that night, and the mountain temple was demolished, but the next day, the master did not come down the mountain, and since then, the mountain god has changed his temper..."
"master?"
"He is an eminent monk and speaks very softly."
"On the orders of the Imperial Master?"
"I heard it was..."
"The mountain god has changed his temper?"
The little girl's expression suddenly became serious, and her eyes shifted to the Taoist, with some thoughts in her eyes.
I always feel that the way this Taoist priest talks is somewhat familiar.
But I only heard the old farmer whispering, his voice almost lost its tone, leaving only the sound of exhalation: "The mountain god gave us a dream and asked us to rebuild the temple. It was bigger than before, and then he asked us to go to burn incense regularly.
Every time we offer sacrifices, we have to bring one of the six animals. At first we were asked to bring chickens, then we were asked to bring pigs and dogs, then we were asked to bring horses and sheep, and then even cattle were asked to be brought.
I enshrine it to him. Some time ago, the mountain god asked us to take the child with us in a dream..."
"Child?"
"Both boys and girls are fine, he doesn't have to choose." The old farmer said in a low voice, "If not, we must prepare all six animals. No one can be missing."
"How did you guys choose?"
"well……"
The old farmer sighed and still whispered: "Although we are in a remote and remote area, we are not ignorant of etiquette. Besides, the government is still there, who dares to sacrifice living people to the mountain gods? Last year, the monks in a temple in Yangzhou
The old monk was burned to death, said to be Nirvana, and all of them were arrested by the government. No matter how poor we are, we still have to raise six animals..."
"It's not easy."
"Who says it's not the case?" The old farmer was worried. "This god of peace and happiness has a bigger appetite every time. Who knows what he will ask for in the future?"
"That's true."
Song You said and paused for a moment, then smiled and said: "Thank you for the oatmeal given by my father-in-law. I have picked all the eggplant fruits, so please go down the mountain quickly."
"That's fine."
The old farmer sighed and shook his head, and said nothing more. He just bent down to pick the eggplant fruits. After picking, he carried them in his clothes and went down the mountain.
When Song You turned around, there was a little girl behind him, wearing three-color clothes, huddled next to the stove. She was so small, raising her head and staring at him without blinking. The heat was rising in the small pot.
"The porridge is ready."
"Thank you, Miss Sanhua."
"You're welcome!"
Song You sat down and served a bowl of porridge, which was today's roadside lunch.
There is dried fish in the porridge, which is also delicious.
After a while, there was a sound of blowing.
Song You held half of the bowl of porridge and looked along the official road. He saw a group of people walking towards the corner playing gongs and drums. Behind him, there were people carrying incense tables and others holding tributes. Sure enough, they were like the old farmer just now.
As mentioned, there are many cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, dogs, and chickens, and they are all tied with red cloth belts.
The group of people seemed a little surprised when they saw the Taoist resting on the roadside. Some people looked at the few swallows beside their quilts and frowned, but they did not stop and did not say anything to him.
"I'm asking Lady Sanhua to do a little favor."
Song You turned around and whispered to the little girl.
"Huh? How can I help you?" The little girl blinked and looked at him. She also imitated him and answered in a low voice. But before Song You could answer, she said first, "Okay."
"It's natural to subdue demons and eliminate demons..."
Song You's voice lowered a bit.
"Conquer demons and eliminate demons?"
The little girl followed him and bowed her head, and also lowered her voice.