Datang First Chef

As a subordinate county of Datang, Annan was deeply influenced by Chinese local culture, and even the regional structure and management system were similar.Localities are divided into states, counties, townships, and communes. The appointment and removal of administrative agencies and officials is the same as in the mainland. The market in the township and the shops in the market are also a replica of the mainland of China.There are wine shops, book shops, restaurants, farm shops, and blacksmith shops.

Mo Wenyuan walked with the sheep on the narrow loess road, looked at the shops on both sides, and commented: "Although they are generally similar, the details are different. The bakery that is common in Chang'an City, the shop that sells Hubing and Hushi is not big here. common."

After listening to his words, Big Black Sheep recalled the merchants from other countries that he had met in the past two days, and he took it for granted: "Baa baa baa baa baa baa." In this way, there are not many merchants in the Western Regions.

They met businessmen from Chenla, Wendan, Kunlun and other countries, corresponding to modern countries, namely Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia.Businessmen from the Western Regions, that is, Central Asia, are almost never seen.

They walked into a grain store. After Mo Wenyuan settled down in the hotel, he was not in a hurry to go out to find Champa rice. Instead, he chatted with local merchants and merchants from the Tang Dynasty, listening to the situation here, and then listening to what they said. Hedian is relatively large and authoritative in the local area.Needless to say, most Tang people have heard of Mo Wenyuan's reputation, and they are willing to sell well. target.

Most of the shops are simple and crude, with walls made of mud, and the tiles are also very dim in color. From the perspective of Tang people, the quality of the tiles is really bad. Occasionally, small bugs and fat mice come out of the shop and look at them. Not pleasant.

Mo Wenyuan left the sheep at the door, and when he entered, the shopkeeper came up to meet him. His Chinese was worse than that of the innkeeper, and he was not fluent. Fortunately, he could barely understand Chinese, and even talked and gestured to communicate with others.

Mo Wenyuan has now seen all kinds of rice under his leadership. During the period, the shopkeeper explained: "These are mostly grown from fine varieties introduced from the Central Plains. The rice grains are large and long, with a pleasant fragrance and white color." Datang The seeds of Cochin are very popular in Cochin, and the price of the harvested grain is relatively high, and only rich people and nobles can eat it.

It is no wonder that the shopkeeper is not fluent in Sinicization, who knows that the vast majority of Tang people do not know how to go to Jiaozhi, and the price is more expensive, but it is produced in their own country.

But what Mo Wenyuan was looking for was not the rice seeds from the Tang Dynasty. He asked, "Is there any local rice?"

The shopkeeper took a look at him, took him into the store, stood still in front of a room and said, "This is all Cochin rice." The rice was scattered in large sacks for people to see, if you are sure the guest officer If necessary, the shopkeeper will send people to the barn to fetch new rice.

Mo Wenyuan bent down to make a distinction, and after looking carefully, he found that the rice of Jiaozhi was indeed no better than the rice of Datang. The rice grains were slender and lacked luster. In Mo Wenyuan's view, the matt light made the rice grains look more dry, and its color tended to be yellow , no matter you look at it from a distance or up close, it has a chaotic taste.

"Guests may wish to look at other types of rice, or whole grains. These kinds of rice are unpalatable even after being boiled. The taste is harsh, and the rice even has a slightly bitter taste. Unless it is a poor local family, it is rare to buy."

Mo Wenyuan seized the key words and said: "Why would the local poor people buy it? Could it be that the price of this item is very low?"

"The price is really low, and only half of the ordinary rice has not arrived." The shopkeeper explained, "What the distinguished guests don't know is that this rice is far inferior to other rice in terms of color and flavor. However, it has only one advantage, that is, less planting and more harvesting."

"What do you mean by planting less and harvesting more?"

"I don't know how this rice grows, as long as it is scattered on the ground at will, it will take root and sprout even if no one cares about it, forming a rice field. Compared to weeds, it’s not far behind.”

"This rice can be grown four times a year, and the output is very large, so its price is low, and people from poor families buy this rice to eat." In the hearts of those people, this rice has become a substitute for turf, tree roots or the like. .

Mo Wenyuan nodded and said, "I see."

"Give me a bag of this kind of rice first."

……

It took Mo Wenyuan ten days to browse through all the nearby large and small farm shops and grain stores, and bought many different varieties of rice. The rice was packed in bags, and Mo Wenyuan dug from each bag. A can of grain, steamed rice to eat.

Only after eating can you judge whether they taste good or bad.

The Cochin people did not deceive him. The best tasting rice is actually the rice seed from the Tang Dynasty. The local varieties are not very good, with a sharp sour taste, or dry and without rice fragrance. No matter what kind of rice, if it is not processed twice , I am afraid that not many people want to eat it.

However, in stark contrast to their bad taste, they are cooked, most of which are cooked four times a year, and occasionally three times a year.

Mo Wenyuan was deep in thought. The temperature of Jiaozhi is higher than that in the Central Plains. If they were planted in the Central Plains, they would be grown three times a year. No matter what, it was much better than once or twice a year.

Moreover, he had eaten Champa rice before, that is, a batch bought in Jiangnan. The taste of Champa rice was average, but it tasted better than the local rice in Annan. It is far from enough, we also need to go to Champa.

……

The time agreed with Master Xuanzang and the others arrived. Mo Wenyuan took the big black sheep to the appointment on time, and saw that several people had already arrived. Master Xuanzang was in the middle, with a good face. Obviously, the time passed quite well, and Shennong still With a serious face, no joy or anger can be seen.

Mo Wenyuan was the first to say hello: "Seeing the master is like this, I think I have gained a lot in the past few days."

Master Xuanzang smiled and said, "That's true." He said, "Although the wind of believing in Buddhism here is not very strong, it is not bad either. Some Jiaozhi masters are very insightful in studying Buddhism. I have been living in Jiaozhi these days. I preached the Dharma, communicated with local monks, and gained a lot of experience.”

Jiaozhi entered the feudal era relatively late, and before that they believed in natural gods, such as the god of land and the god of wind, but this place borders on the territory of China, so when the wind of Buddha swept across the mainland of China, Jiaozhi was also affected. spread.

A small number of monks came here to save sentient beings. For the Jiaozhi people who once believed in the god of nature, the complete teachings and the truth hidden in the fables are really irresistible.Coupled with the fact that they live in poverty and are trapped in water and fire, the Buddhist saying that suffering in this life will be rewarded in the next life can also give believers spiritual comfort.

So soon, Buddhism spread in the local area.

In order to let more people see the compassion of my Buddha, Tang Sanzang brought something from Chang'an City while traveling around preaching Buddhism: that is a thick, bound volume of common lectures.

The quality of life of the Cochin people is not very high, especially in entertainment life, almost nothing. Their people live a rigid life of three points and one line, only wandering around at home, in the farmland, and at most in the market.Even operas, legends, and folk tales are not found in Jiaozhi.

At this time, the vulgar teachings brought by Master Xuanzang were very important. He handed over the book to his omnipotent disciple Sun Wukong, and asked him to find a place to read the script carefully. Tell the local people to listen.

As a result, it goes without saying that as long as it is what Sun Dasheng wants to do, there is nothing impossible to do. The vulgar lectures he said imitated Huiyuan's lectures that were once all the rage, and attracted many audiences. More and more people came to listen to the vulgar lectures. Even the degree of favorability for Buddhism has skyrocketed.

After hearing this, Mo Wenyuan nodded and said, "Congratulations to Master."

Master Xuanzang bowed his head slightly and said: "These are just small tricks. Spreading the Dharma is a long way to go, and it requires the long-term efforts of many colleagues." I will save a few of them, and if I want to come to the mountains and countryside, the demons will be even more rampant."

He has the taste of slaughtering all the demons and heretics in the world, even Mo Wenyuan dare not look directly at the murderous intent on Master Xuanzang's face.

The chilling intent made him look even more handsome.

Shennong also harvested a lot, but his aspirations were not aimed at agricultural planting methods, but at the function of the Annan rice seed itself. Although it tastes bad, it has miraculous effects in maintaining water and soil.

and……

Shennong, who is technically skilled, reached out and touched his chin. His eyes never looked at anyone, but instead looked at the vast void. He was recalling and thinking.

"The rice in Annan is far from the rice in the Central Plains." He said, "I have seen a lot of rice growing in various places in Annan, but the height of their plants, the quality of the rice grains, and even the ripening season are somewhat different." He concluded Dao, "It seems to change with the change of the terrain."

Mo Wenyuan understood what he meant, probably saying that the rice here is extremely adaptable, and it is easy to breed new varieties. If it is planted in different places, it will bear different fruits. It is a tangerine, and it is a trifoliate orange if it is born in Huaibei." That's it.

However, at the same time, he still had a question, that is, they only stayed in Annan for a few days, how could they travel all over the place and come to a conclusion?

Thinking that Shennong is a friend of Master Huizhi, and his master Master Huizhi is the incarnation of a bodhisattva walking in the human world, Mo Wenyuan couldn't hold back for a while, and asked a question, he said: "I don't know if Brother Shan is also there Possessing supernatural powers, are you an immortal in the sky?"

Shennong asked in surprise, "Didn't I say that?"

Mo Wenyuan looked at the big black sheep first, only to see that the big black sheep was bewildered and shook his head frantically. Obviously, the other party didn't say anything, and the big black sheep didn't know its identity.

"Never said that."

Shennong said: "Lianshan is another name for me."

Lianshan, Lianshan, Lianshan...

Mo Wenyuan thought: It seems a bit familiar, but this name is really a bit out of the ordinary, even though he has read a lot of poetry and books, he didn't think of it for a while.

Therefore, Shennong said: "I have another name, which is known to everyone. It is called Shennong."

Mo Wenyuan: "..."

There is a hidden dragon and crouching tiger around him.

……

Annan is very close to Champa. Judging from the distance traveled, although it crosses the national border, it is not as close as the distance from Chang'an to Luoyang.

But unlike the Liangjing Corridor with flat roads, the deeper you go, the muddier the road becomes, and the surrounding scenery becomes a real mountain scenery, occasionally you can hear tigers roaring and monkeys crying, Mo Wenyuan raised his head, and went Looking ahead, one can see tall trees with twining vines, the leaves are no longer the emerald green of spring, the color is close to black, and wild flowers and weeds of various colors are intertwined together. The sky covered the sun, almost blocking the sun.

The scenery in front of me, according to the vocabulary of later generations, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a tropical rainforest.

Pedestrians on the road have not become scarce, but their status, or nationality, has changed.

"There are more and more local people."

And most of the passers-by are mountain people, who don't speak Chinese.

As he was walking, he suddenly saw a year-old man sitting on the side of the road with two poles in front of him. Looking at his dark brown skin and short stature, it was easy to tell that he was an old local farmer. He didn't pay much attention, and when he saw something in his pole, his eyes widened, he quickened his pace, and walked in front of that person.

Tang Xuanzang and others also stopped and looked at Mo Wenyuan curiously, not knowing what he was going to do.

Mo Wenyuan's language ability is not bad. After arriving in Annan, he also learned some local words. Annan borders China's territory all the year round, and has been included as China's territory several times in the long history. The formation of the language has had a profound impact, even in Annan's local dialect, there is a lingering shadow of the Han language.

Now that he can learn difficult and obscure Sanskrit and use it freely like his mother tongue, it is not difficult to learn to speak Annan's local dialect, so he immediately went forward to chat in unfamiliar words.

The old farmer looked up and saw that Mo Wenyuan was tall, his complexion was fair, and his facial features were very different from those of ordinary gentlemen. He immediately opened his eyes wide and his face glowed, which was obvious to him. The man who went to Datang is something worth bragging about, it's a great thing.

Mo Wenyuan pointed to the eater in the pole: "What is this?"

The old man used his finger strokes, and Mo Wenyuan listened for a long time, only knowing that the one syllable in the name of this thing is very similar to "banana", and his eyebrows and eyes stretched even more.Curved, crescent-like shape, golden, smooth skin, except for a little shorter, this thing looks exactly like the banana he remembered.

He even misses the faint scent of banana peel that permeates his nostrils.

Regarding the origin of bananas, according to historical records, there are two theories. One is that bananas are a local fruit in China, with a history of more than 2000 years of cultivation. In Qu Yuan’s "Nine Songs", it is said that bananas can also be used for textiles. There is a kind of food called "ganban", which is sweet and crunchy. Some people in later generations think that it may be bananas.

Of course, according to the concept of modern people, bananas are not brittle, and it is impossible to make textiles, so those records must not be bananas, and Mo Wenyuan has lived in the Tang Dynasty for so many years, and he has not seen this kind of fruit. shadow.So, at least in the fantasy Tang Dynasty, bananas are not a local product.

There is also a record that bananas were introduced to China from Southeast Asia in the Yuan Dynasty. They are yellow in color, white when peeled, and soft and sweet, so they are loved by people.

Annan belongs to Southeast Asia, and it was a surprise to find bananas here.

He bought two poles of bananas. Considering that he had nothing to carry, he even took away the poles. Not only was the old farmer not unhappy when he was compensated for the poles, but he happily gave them to Mo Wen Yuan, and told him one thing.

"If you want bananas, you can also sell them in the villages ten li further ahead." He said, "Several nearby villages grow them, but the quantity is not much, so we can only eat them for fun."

From his words, Mo Wenyuan also got the news that in Annan and other places, bananas have changed from wild farming to artificial cultivation. If you are willing to invest time and energy, you may be able to grow them in large quantities.

He sincerely said: "Thank you, old man."

Although he doesn't seem to be very strong, he carried the pole with ease, carrying two baskets of bananas in front of everyone, even the serious Tang Xuanzang showed curiosity, and the big black sheep "baa baa baa" Baa baa baa" coquettishly greeted him, and asked: What is this, can I eat it?

Mo Wenyuan said: "Of course it can be eaten." But he didn't plan to let the big black sheep eat it first, but had other plans.

His smiling eyes locked on Sun Wukong, who had very keen senses. He was staring at the golden banana in a daze, but suddenly raised his head after feeling Mo Wenyuan's gaze.

"Does the Great Sage want to eat this?"

Big Black Sheep:! ! !

The sheep looked at Sun Wukong, his eyes were burning with jealousy, my God, Mo Xiaoyuan is not the first to think of me when he has delicious food, what kind of ecstasy did you little fairy give him!

Sun Wukong: ? ? ?

……

Sun Wukong felt that he was a bit strange, since he saw the yellow fruit and vegetable named banana, he became a bit unlike himself.

He is a smart monkey with rich experience. He made a big fuss in the heavenly palace, confronted the Tathagata Buddha, and finally went to the west to learn Buddhist scriptures with his master. more transparent and calm.

At the same time, he has piercing eyes that can see through everything, so there are few things in this world that can shake him.

However, after the appearance of the banana, there was a slight difference in all of this. His eyes were involuntarily focused on the banana, and the fragrance of the skin was drilled into his nose one by one.

He was burned in the gossip furnace of Taishang Laojun once, and his eyes can see through emptiness, so he can also see through the banana peel and see the white, tender and curved flesh inside.

Monkey King's calmness and self-restraint had long since dissipated, he only felt the impulse and longing emerging from the depths of his heart.

I really want to take a bite.

Mo Wenyuan's words broke all his concentration even more, and the appearance of indifference was broken. He looked at the chef who handed the banana to him with surprised eyes, took it silently, and then said nothing, with a pious expression. Carefully tear off the golden outer skin, and bite off the pointed banana tip.

When Zhu Bajie saw Monkey King's situation, he was dumbfounded: Big brother!What's wrong with you, senior brother, the monkey hair on your head is all raised!

Needless to say, the monkey tail that always hangs behind the buttocks, etc., kept flapping left and right, trembling, and the jumping range fully expressed his mood at this time-it couldn't be better.

Mo Wenyuan muttered to himself: "Sure enough, do monkeys love bananas?"

Even Monkey King cannot escape this law!

……

Banana is a very good fruit, rich in functions, rich in starch, and can relieve hemorrhoids and help digestion. It has become a must-have fruit on every table in later generations.

Having found this kind of fruit in Champa, Mo Wenyuan is also willing to bring it back to the Tang Dynasty like Zhang Qian did when he was envoy to the Western Regions.

Looking back at the crowd eating bananas, Mo Wenyuan said, "May I go and see the village where this banana is grown first?"

It was rare for Monkey King to be the first to respond to Mo Wenyuan's words. When he spoke, he was holding a banana and was about to stuff it into his mouth: "Yes, I want to go together."

Others are also amazed at the sweetness of bananas. Shennong, who has a deeper research on ingredients, also found that bananas can quickly make the body full of energy, and the efficiency of providing energy even exceeds that of staple foods such as rice. With this effect, how can you not look at it? How to plant the truth.

Following the guidance of the old man, they walked all the way to a village. The villagers were very surprised when they saw that the Tang Dynasty's lord came here. After hearing about their intentions, they took the initiative to take them to the place where the bananas were planted.

Bananas are tropical plants that grow on trees and can only grow well in places with high temperature and high humidity.Shennong communicated with the farmers in Annan, and heard him talk about how to take care of banana trees, but found that the farmers here are also very crude in planting techniques. They only said that this kind of tree needs a lot of water, and it needs to be watered more when planting. It will bear sweet fruit.

After hearing this, Shen Nong lamented that the planting techniques in Nanzhao and other places are really crude. Even though the planting has formed a large scale, they have not mastered the precise method that is out of concept, and rely on vague experience to plant. This method is very unacceptable. fetched.

He is proficient in farming. Even if it is the first time he sees banana trees, he can compare them to see which one is healthier and which one bears fruit. After obtaining the consent of the local farmers, he simply took out Fang Sheng Other things record the distance between trees, distinguish the sunlight of various planting places, and dig soil from the ground to check the quality and moisture of the soil.

Shen Nong: Farming, I am a professional!

……

However, apart from Shennong, there is another person whose enthusiasm for banana planting technology cannot be understood by everyone.

Shennong looked at Zhu Bajie, who was engrossed in his records, and even held a scroll to record the planting process in ecstasy-like characters, and couldn't help asking.

"Marshal Tianpeng likes bananas very much?" He didn't see it. The one who really likes bananas should be the Monkey King. These days, bananas are never out of his hands, and he never gets tired of eating them.

"Hehe, Shangke, Shangke." Zhu Bajie laughed twice, and then asked, "The quality of this soil..."

Shennong never refused to answer other people's questions, so he immediately gave a detailed answer.

No one knows what kind of ambition Zhu Bajie has in his heart.

He, as the second senior brother, has been teased by Monkey King a lot!

Whenever he was beaten by his master, he dared not resist his master, but he would always think of Monkey King who was like a duck to water in the master's school. The long-term difficulty made him respect Sun Wukong, and at the same time, he always wanted to resist For a while, or for revenge.

However, Sun Wukong is almost a monkey without weakness, before eating bananas.

Thinking of the picture of the other party's relish and never leaving the banana, Zhu Bajie's eyes burst into a frightening light. He vowed to grow the most delicious bananas.

Then eat them all in front of the elder brother, leaving none for him!

Such was his terrible revenge!