Chapter 171: The God Farmers Planting the Five Grains (1/2)

Chapter 171: The God Farmer's Planting the Five Grains

Translator: TransnEditor: Transn

Kong Xuan returned to the Jiang Tribe with Lieshan after accepting the boy as his apprentice. He settled down inside the mountain close to the tribe and taught Lieshan the ways of cultivation with some preaching now and then. Under his guidance, the boy grew little by little and finally became known as the God Farmer.

Ever since the Human Tribe learned how to fish and hunt as well as the prohibition against incest from Fuxi, they had increasingly few casualties in their fight against the wild beasts. Their newborns also became stronger along with the increase of meat in their diet and more humans survived than ever before.

But another big question came up. That was their sustenance. Due to the increasing population, fishing and hunting weren't enough to meet everyone's needs anymore. The fowls and beasts that they could hunt also decreased in number and that food supply could no longer serve its purpose. The major challenge the Human Tribe now faced was solving the issue of their food.

Despite the achievements the God Farmer had made since becoming Kong Xuan's disciple, the wish he had made before had always haunted his mind. Now that he had grown up, it was the time to ask for a solution.

Kong Xuan stretched his hands and a Five Colored Nine Fringed Grain appeared on his palm. The God Farmer asked, ”Master, is this the stuff that birds often feed on? Could this also be edible for my tribesmen?”

Kong Xuan smiled. ”Yes. Plant this in the soil and irrigate with water until its maturity. Then it will be edible for humans.” The God Farmer was overjoyed and thanked his master before hurrying back to his tribe. He found a piece of open space and planted the Five Colored Nine Fringed Grain in the soil. From that day on, he took care of it every day and night. He did what Kong Xuan told him to do and irrigated the seed with water.

Eventually, the seed grew. Seeing this, the God Farmer rubbed some of the grains and put them into his mouth. Fortunately, it tasted good. Therefore, he hastened to teach his tribesmen what he had learned. They didn't believe him in the beginning but all their doubts were quelled after following his instruction to plant some grains by themselves. They were overjoyed by the abundant harvest.

Thus, more and more followed the God Farmer's lead to cut down trees, eliminate weeds, and open up wasteland for farming with their axes, hoes, and other tools. After all their hard work, they finally reaped the grains they sow.

The grain didn't meet all the needs of the Human Tribe. After all, it wasn't enough to actually solve the food problem for the tribe. The God Farmer naturally understood the situation.

After pondering on the issue, he was inspired by the grain. If there were more plants like the grain that could provide an endless food supply as long as they were planted annually, then their sustenance problem would naturally be solved.

No one could tell what was edible and what was not at that point in time because the Five Grains grew with weeds and the herbs with flowers. To resolve this problem, the God Farmer tasted and experimented with each of the plants. Often, he accidentally consumed poisonous plants in his research. If not for Kong Xuan, he would have already been dead.

After many trials, he finally found something edible out of those plants. He picked out rice, millet, grain, wheat, and beans as the Five Grains. That was why his descendants honored him as the Ancestor of Five Grains and the God of Agriculture.

The lives of his tribesmen improved after learning about the Five Grains. But the weather was beyond their control and the irrigation for the Five Grains became their biggest problem. Sometimes, natural disasters would ruin nearly all their crops.

So the God Farmer started to thinking about the solution to the lack of water. No idea came to him after much consideration, thus he was forced to ask for his master's advice. He relayed his troubles to Kong Xuan on their rendezvous and waited for an answer.

Kong Xuan noticed in the anxiety in his disciple's eyes and smiled. ”Water doesn't only exist in rivers, lakes, and seas, but also underground.” He then closed his eyes and went to cultivation again. His answer confused the God Farmer but decided to leave his master alone.