After Waking Up I Inherited the Earth [Interstellar] – CH113

Chapter 113

That was honeysuckle!

Xie Xingchen recognized it at a glance.

Don’t ask why—ask and the answer is: every time finals season hit in college, he’d see cafeteria aunties in groups, wielding long hooked poles, harvesting honeysuckle all over campus.

And it wasn’t just his school. Tons of universities did the same.

So whenever students saw those aunties happily carrying honeysuckle home, they knew: finals were coming.

Looking at the honeysuckle, Xie Xingchen couldn’t help asking in his mind, “Xiao Mo, why does the ripening period of this honeysuckle seem different from what I’ve seen before?”

Maybe the question was too pointless, because the system stayed silent for a moment before replying.

[System]: Living things evolve.

Xie Xingchen: “…”

Xie Xingchen: 0.0
Alright then. Evolution really is powerful.

He stopped asking.

He pulled up the map and marked the location, drawing a little waterfall and a little honeysuckle doodle.

Even if honeysuckle’s blooming season had shifted earlier, its growth habits probably hadn’t changed… right?

With that in mind, while everyone was picking the honeysuckle, Xie Xingchen reminded them again and again to be careful and not damage the roots and stems.

After all… honeysuckle blooms for an absurdly long time—so long that those aunties could pick it from finals week all the way until the next semester’s freshmen finished military training!

Which meant it grew in waves. So he needed to leave the roots intact, let it keep growing, and come back to harvest again once it recovered.

A group of robots worked carefully, while Xie Xingchen took photos of their busy backs from the side.

That way, when he listed the product later, he wouldn’t have to rack his brain writing descriptions—he could just grab a few screenshots and toss them into the product page. Simple, clear, and convenient.

But honestly, Xie Xingchen’s casual approach was way too thrilling—so thrilling that people nearly couldn’t breathe.

Especially that group of planet owners. When they saw Xie Xingchen “wipe out” yet another natural training ground, their expressions turned extremely strange, and their private group chat exploded.

[Boss Xie from Earth Commerce really spends big…]: A natural training ground like that—he just destroys it as if it’s nothing. This is the second one, right?

Someone sighed, and the envy in their tone was obvious.

That planet owner ran a mining planet—he had money, but he lacked safe natural plants.

[Sigh, old friend, he has what you don’t.]: He’s a planter. Why would he lack safe plants? Besides, those green plants have low green-matter content—planters might not even care.

The logic was arrogant, but not entirely baseless. Still, someone disagreed—and this person was also a planter-planet owner.

[I don’t think he “doesn’t care.”]: I think he’s forcing himself to do it because he needs to maintain product volume for listings. Watch the green-plant market—prices have dropped like crazy, and that’s all Boss Xie’s doing!

Not everyone is obsessed with money. In every class of people, there are always a few soft-hearted ones.

This planter-planet owner speaking up for Xie Xingchen was one of them.

Before Earth Commerce showed up, his “safe greens” were already the cheapest in the industry—but he didn’t dare clash with the big players. So even if his prices were low, they still stayed within what others would “allow.”

Nobody thinks money burns their hands. He didn’t do it because he was rich enough to waste cash—he did it because he had conscience and couldn’t bear it.

So when Xie Xingchen’s low-price green plants became the new norm, he immediately followed, becoming one of the first to respond with price cuts.

And because he reacted quickly, he actually “reversed his fate” during this green-plant affordability wave—his shop reputation and sales skyrocketed to heights he never dared imagine before.

[I really hope we can meet Boss Xie on Trade Day!]:

[Should be possible, right?]: I heard Boss Xie was one of the earliest planet owners to receive an invitation from the insectoids.

[I heard that too!]: Supposedly because he sold goods to insectoid territory, and the insectoid hatchlings really like Earth Commerce products.

…

[Hahaha, you guys only know the surface.]: What I heard is that Boss Xie did the insectoids a favor. That’s why he got the first invitation—and he’s a VIP. The insectoids told him to pick any spot he wants in the Trade Day venue.

The more they talked, the more excited everyone got, and more and more “insider details” came out.

By the end, they only wanted Trade Day to arrive faster so they’d have a chance to befriend Boss Xie.

As for whether Boss Xie wanted to befriend them?

Isn’t that obvious?

Everyone here had principles.

In other words: everyone here was a “noble person.”

If so, what was there not to befriend?

Xie Xingchen had no idea that certain planet owners had already “sealed the verdict” on his “noble character.”

At this moment, this “noble” man was busy processing honeysuckle… to sell for money.

Honeysuckle was a common herbal medicine, with effects like clearing heat, detoxifying, reducing inflammation, and easing swelling.

Fresh honeysuckle had many uses, but dried honeysuckle lasted much longer. So aside from selling a small limited batch fresh, Xie Xingchen collected the rest to dry and sell later.

Drying honeysuckle wasn’t hard—what was hard was that the sun here wasn’t strong enough.

So he had to transport the honeysuckle to Qiong Island, dry it there, then ship it out through the small wormhole receiver at the tropical plantation.

One extra transportation step meant a whole lot more work.

But, well—work is something you get used to as you do it.

And in Qiong Island’s blazing, summer-like sunshine, Xie Xingchen suddenly remembered watermelons.

The ultimate summer lifesaver!

Who could resist biting into a piece of ice-cold watermelon on a scorching day?

Green rind, bright red flesh—just thinking about it made his mouth water.

Maybe… in a few days, he’d go look for watermelons? Or… cantaloupe would work too.

He happened to need to visit the ranch anyway. After leaving the ranch, if he headed southwest, he’d reach the area with the lamb skewer stalls—and that was a natural region for growing all kinds of melons and fruit.

That place produced a lot of melons, and they were sweet!

Whatever fruit grew there, the flavor was always better than fruit grown elsewhere.

It took three days to dry the honeysuckle. As soon as it was done, Xie Xingchen immediately handed the shipping job to Long-Life, then climbed into the hovercar with Get-Rich and Prosperity.

After a few hours, they reached the ranch.

Late March to early April—by now, the snow on the ranch had melted away.

A cool spring breeze swept over the land, and grass pushed green shoots out of the soil.

Back when March began, Xie Xingchen had already told the management robot stationed here—Little A—to ride a hoverboard and sow grass seeds around the area.

After sowing, he had other robots fly sprayer drones and mist the land with diluted plant nutrients and growth solution from storage.

No joke—those supplies alone cost him tens of millions of star credits.

But looking at the results now, it was absolutely worth it.

The seeds he’d spread had sprouted.

Sure, it still looked sparse—but Xie Xingchen believed that as long as the seeds germinated, those tough little grasses would fight like crazy to survive.

As far as the eye could see, there were flecks of pale green. The color of life was soothing.

Arriving at the ranch, Xie Xingchen nodded in satisfaction.

Compared to a few months ago, the ranch area had expanded by at least double.

The inner ring (the original ranch) was lush, and the outer ring (the newly added area) looked thinner but still brimming with vitality.

He got out of the hovercar and headed toward his small wooden cabin.

From a distance, the little cabin no longer felt lonely at all—countless lambs with different colored wool were bleating and wandering outside the fence.

Clearly, the new fence around the cabin had been built to keep those lambs from barging in.

“Why are there so many lambs now?” Xie Xingchen asked in surprise.

Last time he came, there weren’t many lambs at all.

But now?

The colorful lambs were packed so tightly it looked like clouds had fallen from the sky.

Get-Rich glanced at them and answered seriously, “Spring has arrived. Everything revives. Breeding begins.”

That made sense, but… isn’t spring the mating season?

And these lambs looked at least a month old, didn’t they?

Something felt off.

Prosperity hit the nail on the head: “Boss, don’t doubt it. Our breeding factory uses artificial breeding.”

Subtext: anything you think is “abnormal” is probably the result of human intervention.

Xie Xingchen: Let me explain.

“I’m not doubting it,” Xie Xingchen said. “I’m just surprised it can reproduce this many so fast.”

If there were one, two, or even a hundred or two hundred lambs, he wouldn’t react like this.

But there had to be at least a thousand lambs here.

He didn’t get the exact answer until he met Little A.

Not only that—he also learned where these sheep came from:

The shepherd dog family brought them in.

Can you believe it?

That shepherd dog family singlehandedly increased his herd by several thousand colorful sheep—and among them, there were an absurd number of ewes.

There weren’t many breeding rams, but the quality was excellent. Add artificial temperature control and plenty of feed, and ewe after ewe became pregnant.

One after another kept giving birth, until the scene Xie Xingchen saw when he arrived.

And those lambs had some kind of issue—they loved grazing on the grass near Xie Xingchen’s cabin.

No matter how the shepherd dog family tried to herd them away, as soon as they were released to roam, they’d all slowly drift toward Xie Xingchen’s cabin.

After it happened again and again, Little A stopped bothering. They just put up fencing near the cabin to protect the surrounding environment from being destroyed, and let the lambs do whatever they wanted.

Everything was fine… except for one drawback:

Whenever Xie Xingchen stepped out of the cabin, he was likely to step in sheep droppings.

The old “picturesque mountains and waters, and at the foot of the hill it’s just me” vibe was gone.

But “when the wind bends the grass low, you can see cattle and sheep” became vivid and real.

Even if the grass wasn’t tall yet, and even if these were all lambs—the mood was still there, just slightly discounted.

Holding the reins of White Gloves and Treading-Flames, Xie Xingchen walked around, and the sheep flock would part for him.

The two ponies had grown into half-grown horses.

It had only been a few months, but they were already nearly as tall as Xie Xingchen—big enough to carry him for a few laps.

But they were still young, and Xie Xingchen didn’t dare push it.

Aside from that one time early on—when he couldn’t refuse their enthusiasm and let White Gloves and Treading-Flames carry him for a lap—he never rode again.

Like right now: no matter how the two ponies acted cute, Xie Xingchen only groomed them, fed them, watched them play. At most, he’d ride a hoverboard and “race” them a bit, just to make them happy.

Young horses were easy to fool—so long as Xie Xingchen played with them, they’d be delighted beyond reason.

The only problem was: they loved sweets a little too much.

Xie Xingchen didn’t dare give them sugar anymore—he was afraid they’d ruin their teeth.

Sure enough, just as he was about to rest, the two ponies pressed their heads into his chest again, acting spoiled.

Xie Xingchen shook his head. “No. That was the last piece of candy. I don’t have any more.”

But the two ponies seemed almost human-smart. They pushed their heads against Xie Xingchen’s space button, clearly hinting that he had candy stored in there.

Xie Xingchen: “…”
Damn, are these horses becoming spirits or something?

Image

“Neigh—neigh…”

They kept whining, their big eyes full of longing as they stared at him.

Xie Xingchen’s heart softened. He didn’t pull out candy, but he did pull out two apples and stuffed them into their mouths.

With the delicious apples, the ponies finally stopped complaining.

Just then, Xie Xingchen spotted the Horse King and immediately whistled.

The Horse King came trotting over, and Xie Xingchen breathed a sigh of relief. He handed the two ponies over to the Horse King and fled like his life depended on it.

Seriously—he couldn’t take it!

Those ponies were too cute!

If they tried again, he might really surrender.

So… while he still had a shred of rationality, he should run.

Otherwise, if their teeth got damaged, he’d be the culprit.

Afraid the ponies would come looking for him, Xie Xingchen didn’t even dare stay at the cabin. He ran to the employee dorms at the breeding factory instead. After that, anytime he heard hoofbeats, he immediately hid.

After quietly staying busy for two days, Xie Xingchen handed the new products over to the robots and finally left.

But he didn’t return to Chang’an Workshop.

Instead, he drove in the direction he remembered.

Along the way, the vivid green grass gradually disappeared, replaced by plants that looked malnourished.

Xie Xingchen never recorded where he’d been.

Because just by looking at the plants under his feet, he could tell whether he’d visited this place before.

Maybe he really had some kind of fated bond with horses.

The moment Xie Xingchen stopped the hovercar by the river, the roar of galloping hooves surged in.

Hearing that sound, he reflexively opened his light-brain and started recording.

He’d barely gotten ready when countless sturdy horses thundered toward the river.

Hooves splashed into the water, sending up huge sprays.

The momentum of the stampede seemed to force even the river to yield.

So magnificent it made you fall in love at first sight.

This was—

Heavenly horses bathing in the river.

Xie Xingchen suddenly thought of something. His eyes widened, and he held his breath as he watched the horses ford the river.

When the herd finally vanished into the distance, he let out a long breath.

Xie Xingchen said excitedly to the two robots, “Get-Rich, Prosperity, we’re insanely lucky—we actually got to see heavenly horses bathing in the river!”

Being there in person was far more breathtaking than watching a video.

In that moment, every word you could use felt pale and powerless.

His mind was filled with nothing but that image.

And suddenly, he understood why cavalry had been the strongest force in ancient times.

Facing an army with that kind of presence—other branches of troops would naturally seem weaker.

Get-Rich’s gaze froze for a split second. After a long moment, he also sighed, “It really is shocking.”

Prosperity, meanwhile, kept watching the direction the powerful horses disappeared in. Deep in his eyes was a trace of longing he didn’t even notice himself.

After the horses were gone, his longing shifted from the horses to the river.

Clearly, Prosperity wanted to see heavenly horses bathing in the river again.

Prosperity’s wish lined up perfectly with Xie Xingchen’s.

So the man and the two robots found a slightly higher vantage point, lowered the hovercar, set up camp quietly, and waited for the heavenly horses to return.

They waited from morning to afternoon, all the way until the sun was about to set—when another herd finally came to ford the river.

They witnessed the spectacle again.

Different time, different herd, different mood—but the same grandeur.

Satisfied, Xie Xingchen watched the direction the horses disappeared, still wanting more.

Then he happily patted Get-Rich and Prosperity on the back, edited the two recordings, and posted them to StarBlog.

[Xie Xingchen V]: Hahahaha—we were insanely lucky today! In the same place, we got to see heavenly horses bathing in the river twice. Honestly, horses really are the Creator’s masterpiece!
[Dawn · Heavenly Horses Bathing in the River Video 1]
[Evening · Heavenly Horses Bathing in the River Video 2]

Xie Xingchen had never bought followers, so all his StarBlog followers were real—and extremely active.

Which meant—

The moment those two videos went up, the comments and reposts hit ten thousand in just a few minutes!

#HeavenlyHorsesBathingInTheRiver#
This tag rocketed onto trending in just ten minutes.

The powerful bodies, the thunder of the stampede, the unstoppable force of crossing the river—even kids would be captivated.

[Just a Grade-School Kid]: Wuwuwu, so pretty! Is this creature called a horse? Boss Xie, are you selling them?

[I’m Dumb, Let Me Go First]: Wuwuwu no wonder Boss Xie said he was lucky. Even watching the video makes my blood boil—this scene is way too magnificent! I want to see it live!

[Pants Flying Everywhere]: Want to see it live +1. And let me be bolder—I want to ride one of them and bathe in the river too!

[Triangle Tail]: So, Boss Xie, when are you opening the Earth tourism route? I’m warning you, don’t make me kneel and beg!

In the interstellar era, people casually talk about “leaving the planet,” “escaping Planet X,” “destroying Planet X,” and so on.

But the beauty of an original species still earns genuine admiration.

Heavenly horses bathing in the river was exactly that kind of beauty.

After the video went up, more and more people saved it and liked it.

Even when someone mocked it for being less exciting than a planetary war, other netizens “taught him what ‘exciting’ means” at lightning speed.

“What are you watching, Shao Ding?”

Human Civilization’s central planet, Third Basic Academy.

During a break between classes, a student opened the video.

Because he had privacy mode on, no one could see what he was watching—but Shao Ding’s bright eyes made everyone curious, so they crowded around.

Shao Ding came from money. Plenty of things could get him excited.

Was it the newest model starship? Or the latest laser weapon?

The thought made his classmates excited too.

“Shao Ding, show us!”

“We want to see too!”

They all talked over each other, eyes shining as they stared at him.

Shao Ding, who was usually “reserved,” was strangely easygoing this time.

He said he’d show them, and he did—no hesitation. He switched his light-brain to public playback.

The BGM kicked in.

The stampede appeared again.

They watched the two videos over and over, until the class bell rang and they had to stop, unwillingly.

They sat through the next lesson in a daze. The moment the teacher left, everyone immediately resumed their “check-in” ritual: heavenly horses bathing in the river.

“Ah! Such beautiful horses! Which planet are they from?”

“Looks like they’re from Earth—Boss Xie’s planet, the really impressive one.”

“Ah… Boss Xie. Then we can’t travel there. Why won’t Boss Xie open tourism even now?”

“…”

The moment they learned it was an Earth species, everyone’s faces fell.

Boss Xie—who doesn’t know him?

And because they knew him, they also knew that seeing it in person was basically a dream.

So someone tried to find a workaround.

“Does the Animal Civilization have creatures like this? If they do, I’ll go on vacation there in a few days!”

“Me too, me too. Even if they don’t have this exact creature, as long as Animal Civilization has something with a similar form, I’ll go!”

“I heard Animal Civilization members can’t transform into humanoid form for the first few years. If there really are creatures in this form, can we travel to their gathering areas?”

Go look at other people’s babies?

“…”

Everyone got more and more excited. The impatient ones looked like they wished they could take time off on the spot.

But then—

Shao Ding spoke.

“Animal Civilization doesn’t have creatures like this,” Shao Ding said, lowering his eyes, voice flat.

He’d thought of the same workaround. He’d even searched StarNet.

But despite Animal Civilization’s countless races, none had that form.

Instead, there was some weird black-and-white bear that was greedy and lazy, doing nothing all day except eating and sleeping.

Shao Ding: Ugh. What are you even good for, Animal Civilization?!

“Really? None at all?”

“Probably true… Shao Ding said it, and Shao Ding knows everything.”

“But Animal Civilization has so many races… maybe Shao Ding remembered wrong?”

“No way. I guarantee Shao Ding didn’t remember wrong.”

“Xiao Feifei, what makes you qualified to guarantee anything? With your memory, you’d forget the moment you looked.”

“You idiot—of course you search StarNet. If the light-brain assistant says none, then none.”

A bunch of little kids shouted back and forth until the classroom sounded like it was raising three hundred ducks.

The noise drove Shao Ding away.

He went into the quiet hallway, opened StarBlog, and sent Xie Xingchen another private message—raising the price he was offering to buy a pony by another factor of two, his face full of melancholy.

He knew Xie Xingchen wouldn’t sell, but… what if?

People should have dreams. Who knows—maybe one day he’d step in cosmic-level luck.

But dreams are dreams precisely because they’re hard to achieve.

Shao Ding’s message was doomed to sink without a trace. Forget a reply—Xie Xingchen never even opened it.

Don’t ask why. Too many DMs. Impossible to read them all.

Anyway, Xie Xingchen only posted the video. Other people getting tempted had nothing to do with him, right? He was just a deliveryman for nature’s beauty!

After watching heavenly horses bathing in the river, Xie Xingchen remembered he still needed to find melons. Reluctantly, he left and continued deeper into the grasslands.

After who knows how long, the water plants grew lush.

He kept going, and when he reached a certain place, Xie Xingchen froze in shock.

On an endless prairie with no visible boundary, several gigantic trees appeared—so huge they looked like they could touch the horizon.

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