First of all, rice comes from maple.
Every year, farmers in southeastern Hubei eat new rice, and the first meal is always a sacrifice to God. Which god did they sacrifice? Hou Ji, the father of agriculture. There is a Shennong Mountain in the south of Daye. It is said that Hou Ji once lived here for a long time and tried to grow millet, wheat, beans and other crops.
Before Hou Ji, people lived in groups, eating grass roots in spring, wild vegetables in summer, wild fruits in autumn and hunting wild animals in winter. Later, the number of human beings increased, and wild animals were rarely hunted. In winter, people can't catch wild animals all day, so they have to find wild fruits that are not buried by snow. At that time, all the mountains and plains were white, and most plants were covered with snow and ice. The cold wind blew, and the maple balls on the maple trees were blown down on the snow. It is found that the small seeds in maple sugar balls taste similar to pine nuts, sweet and fresh.
Later, when Hou Ji lived, Hou Ji found that the small seeds falling from the maple ball flowed to low-lying places with the rain. In spring, these small seeds germinate and slowly grow into weeds. The fruits of these weeds are a bit like maple balls. After peeling, there is a very sweet little seed inside.
After several years, these weeds growing in the ditch changed again. The fruit is not spherical, becomes irregular and looks like barnyard grass in the field now. Later, after Hou Ji's constant observation and numerous cultivation, it became the present rice. Rice is the first of all grains, and farmers are very grateful to Hou Ji. Whenever new grain is cut down, farmers will cook more good dishes, offering sacrifices to Hou Ji first, and then tasting new rice.
Second, beans produce Sophora japonica flowers
As the saying goes, beans change thirty-six, and wheat changes seventy-two. Which is the ancestor of beans? Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio says, "Beans come from Sophora japonica."
It is found that the leaves and pods of Sophora japonica are not much different from peas. It is said that our agricultural ancestor Hou Ji also contributed to turning Sophora japonica into beans.
In autumn, Sophora japonica matures and quietly lands. The next year, a locust tree seedling grew under the big locust tree. In autumn, these saplings bear pods, and there are several shiny Sophora beans in the pods.
"Can you make the Sophora bean bigger and the tree smaller?" Hou Ji thought so, too, so he moved the locust tree species to his home, which is Hou Ji Depression. Move the land once a month and twelve times a year, and the locust tree will become the same as the wild mung bean in the field now, with small pods and small particles inside.
The next year, Hou Ji transplanted these Sophora japonica trees like wild mung beans 12 times, and the pods became bigger, which became the wild peas on the mountain now.
In the third year, wild peas were transplanted 12 months in Hou Ji and became peas. Peas were transplanted 36 times before and after, with high yield and rich nutrition. Hou Ji thought it was still too little to grow only one kind of beans.
Legend has it that there are many apprentices in Hou Ji, and the biggest apprentice is Youqiu. Once, you Qiu found a tree on the mountain, and there were many wild Gleditsia sinensis on the tree. He planted wild Gleditsia sinensis seedlings with pea seedlings and crossed them after flowering. These hybrid peas have become round and flat beans. After 48 transplants, broad beans were cultivated. Youqiu told his master the good news, and Hou Ji was very happy.
Later, Youqiu saw small particles like beans in the pod of another tree. He hoed the grass beside the tree, planted peas beside it and crossed with the tree. After twelve transplants, soybeans were cultivated.
After eating peas, broad beans and soybeans, Houji and Youqiu found that eating peas and broad beans is better than eating soybeans. Hou Ji and Youqiu told people: Use soybeans as ingredients.
Youqiu is not satisfied and wants to change soybean varieties. He often travels across mountains and rivers to investigate and study. One day, he saw a farmer carrying a big bundle of red bean vines. There are many hairy pods on the vine, and the particles inside are dark red. You Qiu asked the farmer, "Where did this come from?" The farmer told him that every mountain is a mountain. You Qiu picked some pods and cooked them. They taste good. So he crossed soybeans with wild red beans, and after twelve transplants, he cultivated red beans. Red beans are not only edible, but also Chinese herbal medicines.
Third, wheat comes from apricot.
Legend has it that wheat is developed from apricot trees.
Who is the cultivator of apricot trees? It's Hou Ji. There are many wild apricot trees at the foot of Houji Mountain, which are short and short. When apricots are ripe, they are purplish red. If you want to eat them, you can reach out and pick them. They taste sour and sweet. People eat apricots and throw them away. Where there are apricot stones, apricot seedlings will grow in the second year.
According to legend, once, Hou Ji accidentally threw an almond into a clay pot for burning tea, and then the almond was dumped in the garbage outside. The next year, an apricot seedling grew in the garbage. Hou Ji was surprised: The water in the earthen pot is boiling hot, how can it germinate? Hou Ji thought this apricot seedling was special, so he observed it. After a long time, this apricot tree bears apricots, which are much bigger than wild apricots and are much better to eat. Hou Ji was pleasantly surprised. He collected a lot of almonds, soaked them in hot water and planted them on the hillside piece by piece. Hou Ji told this ingenious method to the farmers nearby. Since then, people have started to plant apricot trees. After soaking apricots in boiling water, they can get more fruits.
On another occasion, Hou Ji found a wild oat under the apricot tree. It used to have no seeds, but now it has grown small particles. Hou Ji saw it in her eyes and had the idea of sowing again. He planted rows of oats and rows of apricot trees. Since then, apricots are sweeter than before, and oats are fuller than before. Then cross oats with other wheat to become a plant, which is now barley. Hou Ji saw that the hulls of barley were too thick, so he crossed with wild wheat and grew into the present wheat.