"Yes, yes. You have it exactly right. The farmer first said, 'Why, I could not do that. Having seen such bounties, it would be all the harder to return home.' To which the Xian exclaimed, 'But why would you ever want to return here?'
And the farmer said, 'If I do not return, who will feed my neighbors?'
The Xian did not understand this answer. Why was it the farmer's job to feed her neighbors? Did she even know her neighbors? Did they do anything for her? But none of that was relevant for the farmer. She only said that it was something that must be done. Baffled, the Xian did not pursue this line of inquiry further.
And so time passed. Months grew into years. Years grew into decades. And still, the Xian did not leave and still, the farmer continued to work the land. Each year, her work became more adept. She learned the perfect times to sow wheat, sorghum, barley. She could predict the weather by measuring the temperature and the pressure alone. She could feel the soil with her bare fingers and understand what nutrients needed to be added. And as she grew more and more skilled, her fame spread throughout this land, this formerly harsh and barren wasteland from which she coaxed all manner of miracles.
A community came together in this place, now hospitable. And they blessed her and praised her, calling her Shennong: the Divine Farmer.
And what of the Xian?
She continued to watch. And she watched. And she watched. Until at last, she understood the meaning of what the farmer did... until she understood the meaning of what it meant to be Human.
And on that day, when she understood, the farmer called the Xian to her. Time is kind to no man, and the farmer was now old and weathered. Her hands shook with palsy. Her speech was no longer as clear as it once was. Both she and the Xian knew... there was not much time left for her."
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Date: 2025-05-29 02:57 am (UTC)"Yes, yes. You have it exactly right. The farmer first said, 'Why, I could not do that. Having seen such bounties, it would be all the harder to return home.' To which the Xian exclaimed, 'But why would you ever want to return here?'
And the farmer said, 'If I do not return, who will feed my neighbors?'
The Xian did not understand this answer. Why was it the farmer's job to feed her neighbors? Did she even know her neighbors? Did they do anything for her? But none of that was relevant for the farmer. She only said that it was something that must be done. Baffled, the Xian did not pursue this line of inquiry further.
And so time passed. Months grew into years. Years grew into decades. And still, the Xian did not leave and still, the farmer continued to work the land. Each year, her work became more adept. She learned the perfect times to sow wheat, sorghum, barley. She could predict the weather by measuring the temperature and the pressure alone. She could feel the soil with her bare fingers and understand what nutrients needed to be added. And as she grew more and more skilled, her fame spread throughout this land, this formerly harsh and barren wasteland from which she coaxed all manner of miracles.
A community came together in this place, now hospitable. And they blessed her and praised her, calling her Shennong: the Divine Farmer.
And what of the Xian?
She continued to watch. And she watched. And she watched. Until at last, she understood the meaning of what the farmer did... until she understood the meaning of what it meant to be Human.
And on that day, when she understood, the farmer called the Xian to her. Time is kind to no man, and the farmer was now old and weathered. Her hands shook with palsy. Her speech was no longer as clear as it once was. Both she and the Xian knew... there was not much time left for her."