Legend of Jishan Banzao

Speaking of Jishan, you will think of Jishan Banzao, which is well-known at home and abroad. "Jishan jujube is big, small in stone, sweet and crisp and easy to bite." Why is Jishan jujube so delicious? There is another legend.

I wonder when it was before. There is a village in Jishan County called Lucun, which is located at the foot of Luliang Mountain. There is an honest and upright young man named Banel in the village. My parents died early and my family was poor. He lives by going up the mountain to collect firewood.

One day, Banel went up the mountain with a rope, a pole and an axe to cut firewood. When he climbed to the top of the mountain, he saw two people sitting on a big bluestone playing chess. These two men are the mountain gods of Luliang Mountain, one is Lu and the other is Liang. They live in the Rocky Mountain under the right main peak of Huanghuayukou at the southernmost tip of Luliang Mountain. Of course, these boards won't know. He has been firewood in the mountains all the year round, and he feels very lonely. Today, it is rare for two people to play chess at the top of the mountain, so he threw the rope axe aside and sat on a big stone. It looks like playing chess.

In this game of chess, two mountain gods ate three jujubes and spit them on the ground behind them. Banel conveniently picked them up from the ground, put them in his mouth and swallowed them. When the two mountain gods packed their bags to leave, Banel remembered that he had not put the firewood. When he turned to get the rope and axe, he found that his rope and axe had rotted, the handle of the axe had rotted, and the axe had turned into a pile of rust. Banel panicked and didn't know what to do. The two mountain gods looked at Banel's puzzled expression and found it very interesting. They told him that they played a game of chess for three years and ate dates three times in three years. It would be great if Banel swallowed three dates. If it's not enough to bundle all the trees in Luliang Mountain, you won't have to worry about being sad in the future. Banel suddenly realized this. When he left, the two mountain gods also gave Banel a book to read in the most difficult time. This book has its own magical function, but it is not allowed to rummage casually at ordinary times. Banel got the fairy tale book and returned home with surprise.

The house that no one has lived in for three years is in tatters. Banel, regardless of cleaning the house, sat under the lamp and turned over the books curiously. He just whispered the words "heavenly soldiers and heavenly generals ..." Suddenly, all over the house, yard and room, one by one, the heavenly soldiers and heavenly generals with red fangs, armor and guns and swords stood everywhere looking for their teeth and shouted, "What can I do for you?" It turns out that this is a gobbledygook to send heavenly soldiers and generals. Banel was surprised and puzzled. He quickly took a deep breath and said, "Pull up the jujube trees on Luliang Mountain." Mountain soldiers will roar again; "Where is it planted?" Banel replied: "Hu Jiazhuang, Yaocun, Liang Tao." In an instant, the heavenly soldiers will disappear.

The next day, people found that all the jujube trees in Luliang Mountain were gone. The fields in Taocun Village, Yaocun Village and Hu Jiazhuang Village are covered with jujube trees, which bear big and full dates.

People are very grateful to Banel, so they call Jishan Jujube "Half Jujube".