After Waking Up I Inherited the Earth [Interstellar] – CH101

Chapter 101

Xie Xingchen’s seasoning skills were excellent. The sweet potato chips were perfectly salted and only mildly spicy—snacks that even a child could eat.

Whether they captured Ludwig’s heart, Xie Xingchen didn’t know. But they absolutely captured little Randy’s.

After finishing one chip to test the flavor, Randy started craving more.

He blinked his cat-like eyes and looked pitifully at Xie Xingchen… and then at the chips beside him.

It was the New Year—how could he let a kid go hungry for snacks?

So Xie Xingchen had no choice but to fetch a bowl from the small kitchen. He put seven or eight chips into a small bowl and handed it over.

He bent down, patted Randy’s head, and said softly, “Only this many, okay? After you finish, you still have to drink a cup of chrysanthemum tea. Deal?”

Freshly fried chips tasted the best, but they were also the most “heaty.” Xie Xingchen didn’t dare let the child eat too much.

Randy excitedly took the bowl with his short little hands, nodded hard, and shouted in a babyish voice, “O-kay!”

Good—he was so excited his pronunciation was getting sloppy.

[Waaah, I also want Boss Xie to pat my head! I also want to eat the chips Boss Xie and Get-Rich fried!]
[The person above forgot something—sweet potato sticks! Honestly I want the sticks even more than the chips. Boss Xie said you dip the sticks in ketchup, and I LOVE tomato flavor. Begging Boss Xie to open a restaurant!]

Fried food might look unhealthy, but it always effortlessly awakens everyone’s cravings.

When nobody was eating, people could still hold back. But once there was a kid squatting nearby munching happily…

Yeah, no one could endure that.

Some viewers wanted to learn how to make chips and sweet potato sticks along with Xie Xingchen, but they had the will and not the means. They couldn’t even find the ingredients—what were they supposed to cook with?!

Staring at the blank “search similar item” page on the StarNet marketplace, everyone cried real tears.

“Ludwig, do you want some?”

Filling another big bowl with chips, Xie Xingchen tilted his head and asked.

If Ludwig didn’t want them, he’d just eat them himself.

Ludwig nodded and naturally took the large bowl from his hands.

Under his little brother’s envious gaze, he held the bowl with calm satisfaction and slowly tasted the snack in the courtyard.

Except… his whole demeanor didn’t match the vibe at all.

How to put it?

At this moment, Ludwig gave Xie Xingchen strong “foreign son-in-law in a perfectly tailored three-piece suit being stared at by villagers while eating” energy.

Thinking that, Xie Xingchen’s eyes flickered—and he couldn’t help letting out a snort of laughter.

When he noticed Ludwig and Randy looking at him with concern, he finally suppressed his smile and returned to the oil pot to keep working.

By now, Prosperity and Long-Life had finished chopping the meat filling.

This was premium pork Xie Xingchen had snapped up from the system—more than fifty jin of perfectly marbled front-leg pork and pork shoulder butt.

From one pig, those two cuts were the best for meatballs. So two days earlier, the moment Xie Xingchen saw the system selling meat, he bought it immediately. To keep it fresh, he’d left it unclaimed in the system mail the whole time. Sure enough, when he claimed it this morning, it was so fresh it felt like the pig had just been slaughtered.

Because he’d always lacked the right ingredients, Xie Xingchen had never fried meatballs in front of Get-Rich, Prosperity, and Long-Life before.

Today was his first time frying meatballs—and his first time teaching it—so he taught with great seriousness.

It was obvious he didn’t just want to teach the three robots. He also wanted to teach the livestream viewers.

He washed his hands carefully, then faced the camera. “Next we’re making fried meatballs. The first prep step is chopping the meat filling. It’s already done, so I won’t repeat that. Now I’m going to season it.”

As he spoke, he poured the chopped meat into a huge basin. Then he added a large amount of salt, Sichuan pepper powder, white pepper powder, and other seasonings, and vigorously mixed and squeezed the meat by hand until the seasonings were evenly distributed.

After mixing, he washed his hands again, took out a clean pot, added an appropriate amount of water and aromatics, and said, “Seasoned water is also important for fried meatballs. To make them more fragrant, when you boil water, add scallions, shredded ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise—whatever aromatics you have. Once the water is fragrant, strain out the aromatics, let the seasoned water cool, and then you can move to the next step.”

Because there was so much meat, he needed a lot of water. Luckily, the weather was perfect—leave it out briefly and it cooled down fast.

He mixed an appropriate amount of sweet potato starch into the cooled seasoned water, stirred it into a batter, poured it into the meat, and mixed thoroughly. Then he added an appropriate amount of cooking oil and kept mixing until the meat became sticky and cohesive.

He explained while doing it, without repeating too much—because mixing meat was straightforward. He trusted that any lifeform with normal intelligence could handle it.

As for the seasonings, he didn’t say much either, because he couldn’t give an exact standard amount.

That’s just how Chinese cooking is: many seasonings are added by feel, so everyone’s final taste differs.

If someone got completely lost at “appropriate amount,” “a little,” or “by feel,” then Xie Xingchen… couldn’t really help.

Once the meat was mixed, it was time to heat the oil.

Generally, to make fried meatballs truly good, you fry them twice.

The first fry cooks them most of the way through, then the second fry makes them crispy outside and tender inside.

There was still plenty of oil left in the wok, so Xie Xingchen didn’t start new oil.

He turned on the heat, brought the oil to around medium temperature, then lowered it to medium heat and entered his “show-off” moment.

He grabbed a handful of meat, squeezed out a round ball through the “tiger’s mouth” between his thumb and index finger, then used a spoon to scrape it off and drop it straight into the oil.

His movements were rhythmic and smooth. Meatballs flew from his hand into the oil in perfect arcs—yet not a single splash of hot oil landed on him.

A master. He was absolutely a master.

The others who had been busy nearby couldn’t resist rushing over to watch again.

When Xie Xingchen finally put down the spoon, everyone applauded wildly.

Xie Xingchen snapped back and laughed helplessly, a little embarrassed. “Stop clapping, I’m getting embarrassed—this isn’t even a skill.”

He was saying he was embarrassed, and honestly… he really was.

He pressed his lips together awkwardly, then forced himself to shift focus.

With a large skimmer in hand, he quickly scooped up the meatballs as they turned lightly golden and set them aside. Then he lit the other pot—the one that had been idle after frying the sweet potatoes. Once the oil reached a hotter temperature, he refried the meatballs.

Now the meatballs came out with crispy skins, and one bite would burst with fragrance. They looked unbelievably delicious.

He lifted the plate and called, “Come try some?”

Since he said it like that, no one held back.

One by one, people grabbed meatballs with bare hands without even fearing the heat. Even Randy—who had just finished chips—was no exception. Using the fact that he had a small bowl and spoon, and that he was short enough to slip under adults’ arms, he huffed and puffed as he loaded meatballs into his little bowl.

He only stopped when the bowl couldn’t hold any more.

Catching Randy’s actions in his peripheral vision, Xie Xingchen muttered, “Good grief!”

Luckily that bowl was really small.

Even filled to the brim, Randy could only fit four or five meatballs—otherwise Xie Xingchen would’ve been genuinely worried the kid would get overheated.

Because controlling oil temperature and doneness mattered, Xie Xingchen didn’t dare drop too many meatballs in at once, so there was still a lot of meat filling left in the basin.

After the lesson, smart Get-Rich said he’d basically learned it, so Xie Xingchen immediately handed him the important job: the second fry.

So now, Xie Xingchen did the first fry, Prosperity specialized in scooping the meatballs from his pot, then Get-Rich did the second fry, while Long-Life helped Get-Rich scoop the finished batch.

Just like that, an “assembly line” for frying meatballs was established, and efficiency skyrocketed.

In just one hour, the massive basin of meat filling was gone—replaced by basin after basin of golden fried meatballs.

There was still a little oil left in the pot, and Xie Xingchen didn’t want to waste it.

So, embracing the idea that “anything can be fried,” he casually made fried milk and fried tofu as well.

Fried tofu was one thing—but fried milk absolutely shattered everyone’s worldview!

The moment milk went into the oil, people screamed in shock.

Livestream viewers even thought the pot would explode…

But then—he actually fried it successfully.

Everyone: ?

[Holy crap! I feel like a clueless idiot right now!]
[Fried milk is possible?! I’m done. I’m completely convinced. Boss Xie is INSANE—rip-it-up-level amazing.]

Everyone stared in disbelief as Xie Xingchen said “anything can be fried” and then really proved “anything can be fried.”

For the first time, they truly felt the terror of someone who means what he says.

Even more terrifying: Boss Xie was frugal. He could’ve just poured out the leftover oil, but instead he used it to make household soap—saying it could be used later for washing dishes and clothes, and that being eco-friendly meant not wasting things.

Honestly, that environmental habit hit a lot of casual viewers right in the heart, and his public goodwill rose even higher.

Time always flew when it was lively.

Before they knew it, it was time to end the stream again.

Tomorrow was New Year’s Eve. Once New Year’s Eve arrived, the New Year itself arrived too.

In past years at this time, every household would have reunited. Adults would sit in the living room chatting while kids formed little groups and ran around playing.

Look around, and within the sea of lights from countless homes, festive reds shimmered everywhere. Everything at home, in the streets—everything seemed to transform overnight from old to brand new.

“What are you looking at?”

Following Xie Xingchen’s gaze, Ludwig saw the red lanterns they had just hung up.

The two lanterns looked grand and festive. Hanging beneath the eaves, they seemed slightly strange at first glance—but the longer you looked, the more it felt like that was exactly where they belonged.

Ludwig studied the lanterns seriously for a long time. But having never lived in modern society, he couldn’t understand what it meant to “see an object and think of someone,” or “miss home more during festivals.”

Sensing the sudden dip in Xie Xingchen’s mood, Ludwig didn’t say much. He simply stayed quietly by his side.

A long time later, after the people who had gone out to play all returned, Xie Xingchen finally went back indoors. Before closing the door, he smiled with crescent eyes at Ludwig and said, “Thank you, Ludwig.”

That “thank you” meant everything—without needing to be said.

What you think about in the day shows up in dreams at night.

That night, Xie Xingchen suddenly dreamed of when he was very young. In the dream, his parents’ faces were already blurred, but the small silver longevity lock they had given him was crystal clear.

When he woke up, he forgot what exactly had happened in the dream, but it must’ve been happy—because his mood felt unusually light afterward.

The next day, New Year’s Eve arrived.

Before getting out of bed, Xie Xingchen opened the StarNet marketplace and found an energy-coin exchange shop. He exchanged a large amount of energy coins, planning to use them to stuff red envelopes.

Energy coins—also called “Star Alliance coins”—were the Star Alliance’s physical currency. They were special because they contained absorbable energy, so they couldn’t be counterfeited.

But the energy content was small and didn’t match the face value. Plus they were inconvenient to carry and use, so very few people used them. Virtual currency was far more convenient. Under current conditions, only extremely underdeveloped areas still used energy coins in large quantities.

The original body had grown up on a developed planet, so he knew of energy coins but had never used them. Xie Xingchen didn’t know at all—he only found out because he wanted to give New Year’s money, and he dug that memory out from the depths of the original body’s mind.

It was New Year—he had to give the kid lucky money!

And giving lucky money didn’t feel right by transferring through a light-brain. Energy coins were better.

He chose instant delivery. Right after shutting off his light-brain, Xie Xingchen suddenly remembered something.

“Xiao Mo, how much livestream time do I still need for my task?”

[Ding-dong. System friendly reminder: Remaining livestream time for hidden task “A Joyful New Year” is 04:02:08.]

A little over four hours left—neither very long nor very short.

Then Xie Xingchen asked, “Xiao Mo, is the deadline for this hidden task the Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month?”

By the literal meaning, “celebrating the New Year” lasted through the fifteenth. Only after that did it truly end.

If the system counted the deadline that way, then he wouldn’t need to stream much in the next few days. He could simply stream on the fifteenth, rent a big plaza in the StarNet marketplace, and host a Lantern Festival event.

[Ding-dong. System friendly reminder: Hidden task “A Joyful New Year” ends at 23:59:59 on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.]

As expected—

The fifteenth was the true deadline.

In that case—

Xie Xingchen suddenly smiled.

He first sent his two design-department employees a generous year-end bonus.

The moment they received it, both women were shocked.

Before they could even contact Xie Xingchen, they suddenly received a request from their boss: a “Lantern Festival Event Plan.”

According to the boss’s requirements, the event—named “Lantern Festival Event”—would be held in the StarNet marketplace. They would need to decorate the venue themselves. The site had to include Huaxia-style ancient architecture elements, as well as lanterns, candles, riddle lantern games, and some games from Earth Commerce’s kids’ corner. Most importantly, Boss Xie demanded that during the Lantern Festival event, they update and release virtual Hanfu for everyone to try.

This…

Ivy and Zhang Yu looked at each other and felt their heads hurting.

It was true the plan was interesting—more interesting than any event they’d ever seen. But “interesting” also meant “unfamiliar.” There were simply too many unfamiliar elements. And it was just the two of them, with only sixteen days. They were afraid they wouldn’t make it in time.

As if he’d anticipated their difficulty, Xie Xingchen said generously, “I’ll approve the budget. Any amount is fine. Go outside and find designers with strong skills and good character to help. I don’t care about titles or specialization—just outstanding hands-on ability and design ability.”

Hearing that, both of them immediately relaxed.

But his next sentence gave them even more confidence.

“During the work, if there are designers who perform well, after an interview, they can join Earth Commerce’s design department.”

Ivy: !
Zhang Yu: !

They were more delighted than surprised.

Because both of them had acquaintances and friends in the industry.

They envied them—and they also wanted to help them.

So the two women, already confident, gained an unstoppable burst of action.

Ivy ran to Zhang Yu’s home. After Zhang Yu opened the door, the two began discussing who to invite to the event planning.

Since she’d earned a large sum and wanted to get closer to Zhang Yu out of gratitude, Ivy had bought an apartment in Zhang Yu’s building after seeing the environment was good. By sheer luck, she managed to buy on the same floor.

So even though they worked from home, Ivy often went to Zhang Yu’s to discuss things face-to-face.

Today was no exception. They entered Zhang Yu’s studio and started drafting an invite list.

With well-connected Ivy taking the lead, Zhang Yu added a few famous artists, handcraft masters, and designers she chatted with frequently online.

When a long list of over fifteen names was delivered to Xie Xingchen, he was surprised to find that he actually recognized many of them.

So… his employees’ networks were that wide?

Xie Xingchen was astonished.

But he’d seen these people’s work and acknowledged their abilities, so he didn’t say anything—he simply transferred the event funds and hiring fees.

Ahem. Well… anyway, the patents for works designed according to his concept belonged to Earth, so he wasn’t afraid of bringing in more designers—they’d be contributing to Earth!

But he would absolutely pay the design fees properly.

He spent a large sum—and felt even happier.

When he got out of bed to pick up his delivery, his eyes and brows were smiling.

He opened the package and received the energy coins.

At first glance, he was stunned by how beautiful they were.

Energy coins had a deep, luminous blue sheen like a beautiful night sky, and the drifting energy specks on the coin looked like stars.

Compared to the nickname “energy coin,” Xie Xingchen felt they suited a more romantic name: “starry-sky coins.”

By Star Alliance standards, the higher the denomination, the more “stars” on the coin—meaning higher energy. But by Xie Xingchen’s aesthetics, the coin’s beauty did not increase with denomination.

Instead, the medium denominations—5,000 star coins and 10,000 star coins—were the most beautiful.

Below 5,000, there were too few “stars” to fully show the beauty of a starry sky. Above 10,000, the “stars” were too dense, making your eyes dizzy and losing that elegant sense of blank space.

For the sake of “starry-sky” beauty, Xie Xingchen decisively abandoned other denominations and chose only 5,000 and 10,000.

Stuffing them into the red envelopes he’d had custom-made earlier, he patted the cloth pouch holding the envelopes with satisfaction.

Good. The most important New Year equipment was complete!

Xie Xingchen finally felt at ease.

He stepped out of the bedroom lightly.

Since everyone had been sent off by Xie Xingchen to tour Chang’an City, it was quiet outside.

He wandered around the Xie Residence. Aside from himself, even Get-Rich, Long-Life, and Prosperity were nowhere to be seen. After thinking a moment, Xie Xingchen stepped onto a hoverboard and headed toward Chang’an City too.

Today’s Chang’an was very different from usual.

With the New Year approaching, Chang’an had been refreshed and renewed.

With Xie Xingchen’s money-power, every household hung red lanterns. From far away it looked like a sea of festivity; up close you could feel the holiday atmosphere.

Every household’s wooden doors had red paper couplets with black ink characters—but these weren’t written by Xie Xingchen. They were the result of him spending money to have the system handle it.

As for why he didn’t do the same for the Xie Residence?

Xie Xingchen: smiles.jpg
You have to do it yourself to get that New Year feeling.

If Chang’an weren’t so huge—so huge that even if he brought robots they’d work themselves to death and still couldn’t finish—he might have decorated the whole city by hand too.

Xie Xingchen wandered around Chang’an aimlessly.

But fate was fate: in a remote little alley, as he passed by, he suddenly spotted Ludwig and Randy.

Randy had gotten off the hoverboard. He was standing on tiptoe, peering curiously over a courtyard wall, his eyes full of eager excitement.

Xie Xingchen stopped his hoverboard.

He looked at the wall too, but saw nothing.

He called out, “Ludwig, Randy—what are you two doing here?”

The brothers turned to look reflexively when they heard his voice.

Before Ludwig could speak, Randy suddenly leapt into Xie Xingchen’s arms, then pointed at the wall and said in a babyish voice, “Brother Xingchen—kitty! There’s a kitty inside!”

Xie Xingchen raised his brows, surprised. “A cat?”

There were cats in Chang’an?

He really hadn’t seen one before!

Randy nodded earnestly and added, “A black kitty.”

Xie Xingchen was even more surprised. “A black cat?”

His interest instantly flared.

Black cats weren’t common, and most black cats were cool, with built-in stealth skills.

Xie Xingchen liked black cats a lot. Hearing there was one here, he couldn’t help saying, “Then let’s go in and take a look!”

That’s how bold he was.

After all, Chang’an City belonged to him—he could go anywhere he wanted.

Randy nodded furiously.

But just as Xie Xingchen was about to go through the door, the black cat suddenly leapt up onto the wall and began strolling along it.

Its long slender tail swayed lazily, curling and flicking. Aloof, it didn’t even glance at the two-legged creatures below. It walked with elegant cat steps from one wall to the next, then ran all the way back toward the imperial palace.

Xie Xingchen: ?

So it was a palace cat?

Or maybe a consort’s cat?

When he watched it slip into a hole in the palace wall, Xie Xingchen fell silent.

Uh… it probably wasn’t a consort’s cat, right?

A consort’s cat wouldn’t make a wall hole its home!

This was probably a genuine palace wall cat.

At that moment, Xie Xingchen couldn’t help thinking to the system: “Xiao Mo… of course it’s you.”

This time, the system didn’t understand what he meant.

The system fell silent, and Xie Xingchen continued, “Xiao Mo, there should be other cats here too, right?”

Even if this “imperial palace” wasn’t that imperial palace, it was still a palace—so the cats should be the same, right?

He wasn’t greedy. Just give him a few orange tabbies and calicos, that would be enough!

Palace cats!

Once upon a time, he’d begged online to pet “royal cats.” Now he had royal cats too.

Ahhh—this was truly the best gift he’d received this year.

Thank you, system. Thank you, Chang’an City!

He had cats. He had royal cats.

Xie Xingchen’s eyes shone brightly, and his smile became dazzling.

Just like Randy, he crouched on the ground too, staring eagerly at the holes in the city wall that could “spawn cats.”

When the little black cat appeared, he and Randy cheered together.

When a different hole produced a strange new cat, he and Randy widened their eyes and stared unblinking at the timid little creature peeking its head out.

The two “kids” didn’t know how long they squatted there. Even when his legs went numb, Xie Xingchen pulled out a small stool—he simply refused to leave.

Ludwig stood beside them, looking down at Xie Xingchen, who looked as happy as a child.

Then, when his gaze shifted to the little creatures in the wall—those “palace cats” and “royal cats” Xie Xingchen kept talking about—his expression softened too.

“Wow, Randy—there’s a big orange tabby over there! See it? That left little hole—there’s a big orange tabby!”

“Ah! It really looks like Papa! Just like Papa—fat and timid, and so scaredy… hahahahaha…”

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