After Waking Up I Inherited the Earth [Interstellar] – CH127

Chapter 127

After receiving the news, Xie Xingchen changed into a different pair of shoes and hurried downstairs.

From the moment he got the internal call to the time he reached the second-floor reception room, Xie Xingchen took only five minutes.

From that alone, it was obvious how anxious he was.

“Hello, Mr. Xie. I’m one of the managers of the Insectoid Hotel—Hill.”

Upon seeing Xie Xingchen, the hotel manager Hill spoke in a gentle voice.

He looked refined and scholarly, with an approachable, friendly aura.

The first second Xie Xingchen saw him, he was slightly surprised.

Hill’s non-aggressive, even somewhat amiable looks and temperament might not stand out in other civilizations—but in an insectoid civilization?

That was way too magical!

Xie Xingchen had never imagined that the manager of the Insectoid Hotel would be this kind of insect, and he was momentarily a bit thrown off.

After realizing it, he smiled apologetically at Hill.

With sincere tone, Xie Xingchen said, “Mr. Hill, I’m really sorry. I lost my composure just now.”

Hill gave a warm, amused smile. A trace of understanding appeared on his handsome face, and then he joked, “It’s fine. I think I can understand your reaction—after all, I really do look rather unlike an insectoid, don’t I?”

That gentle sentence instantly dissolved the distance between them.

Hill truly was an insect with a lot of affinity.

Xie Xingchen relaxed and replied with a smile, “Not necessarily. If you look carefully, you still have very obvious traits that belong to insectoid civilization.”

Hill immediately grew interested. With curiosity, he asked, “Oh? What traits?”

Xie Xingchen shrugged. “For example… your spirit and vitality—different from lifeforms of other civilizations?”

Xie Xingchen wasn’t lying. Insects of insectoid civilization truly possessed a kind of spirit and vigor that set them apart from other lifeforms.

It was a quality unique to warriors—killing intent and toughness tempered by years on the battlefield.

Although Hill looked gentle, if one observed carefully, they would discover distinct insectoid personality traits hidden beneath that mild demeanor.

Hearing this, Hill froze for a moment, then the corners of his mouth couldn’t help lifting slightly.

No insectoid disliked being told they were a qualified insectoid!

Hill’s mood brightened, and his tone became noticeably lighter.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, seeing the urgency on Xie Xingchen’s face, Hill gave him a small nod and then said clearly and methodically:

“Mr. Xie, we’ve discussed your request. First, we’re very sorry, but we may not be able to rent out one of the Insectoid Hotel’s banquet halls to you as a venue for an offline auction.”

Hearing that, Xie Xingchen felt disappointed, but not crushed.

After all, when Captain Rhode had politely refused at the start, Xie Xingchen had already known this would be difficult—or more accurately, extremely difficult.

During those last two hours, he had actually searched the star network for information about the Insectoid Hotel.

Yet there was very little information online. The few mentions came from gossip-loving netizens, and from those tidbits it became clear: although it was called a “hotel,” it was in fact an alternative kind of military stronghold.

The vast majority (99%) of guests staying there were from the military. Even if they weren’t military personnel, they were at least family members of high-ranking officers. Besides that, there were also certain holders of insect crests, and leaders of other civilizations with ties to the insectoid civilization.

Because of this, Xie Xingchen staying at the Insectoid Hotel inspired envy, jealousy, and caution—so much so that some people who wanted to cause trouble quietly gave up the idea.

Xie Xingchen sighed regretfully.

Then he said sincerely, “That’s really a pity. But I understand why you have to do it. Even if we can’t hold the auction at the Insectoid Hotel, I’m still grateful to you.”

Hill smiled at that, then continued, “First, thank you for your understanding. But we do have another way of handling this. Would you like to hear it?”

Another way?

Xie Xingchen was surprised—and also very interested. “Please, go ahead.”

Hill said, “Although the Insectoid Hotel can’t be rented to you for an offline auction, we can lend you the largest banquet hall in the hotel and provide technical support, so you can hold a fully online holographic auction.”

As Hill finished speaking, Xie Xingchen was stunned.

Lending him the largest banquet hall and sending staff to help him run a holographic auction?

Heavens!

What kind of god-tier civilization was this?

The insectoids were way too kind!

Compared to an offline auction, a holographic auction clearly suited Xie Xingchen’s preferences more.

Not only was it convenient, it also allowed danger to be eliminated at the source.

With no time to think about anything else, Xie Xingchen nodded repeatedly the moment Hill finished, eager to agree.

Even if he achieved his goal in a different way, he still achieved it, right?

So why complain—what more could he want?

Seeing Xie Xingchen nod like a pecking chick, and seeing his sincerity with not a trace of resentment, Hill realized just how easily satisfied this young insect-crest holder was.

For a moment, even someone nicknamed the “smiling tiger” felt embarrassed to say what came next.

But—

Making money mattered more!

Who would have a problem with money?

So Hill still said it.

Only when he spoke, his tone carried a deeply hidden trace of guilt.

Hill said guiltily, “Mr. Xie, here’s the thing. We can lend you the banquet hall and dispatch insectoid staff to help run the online holographic auction—but I believe you understand that all of this is quite costly. So we’d like to charge an admission ticket fee for our own use. Would that be acceptable?”

The moment money came up, Xie Xingchen sobered up instantly.

He keenly sensed there was a lot of “fluff” in Hill’s statement.

A ticket fee?

So people would have to pay to enter the holographic auction?

Xie Xingchen rubbed his chin.

This… might actually be promising.

He said directly, “How much do you plan to charge for tickets? And how much do I get from it?”

Good grief!

He jumped straight into revenue-sharing.

For a moment, Hill didn’t know whether to marvel that this was indeed someone who could grow his business rapidly—or to marvel that Xie Xingchen had the potential to be a ruthless businessman.

During their meeting, they had even privately hoped this young man might overlook the massive ticket revenue and simply let them take it all.

But now it was clear—he wasn’t foolish at all!

Not only was he not foolish, he was unexpectedly sharp!

With one glance, he saw how valuable ticket fees could be.

And what Xie Xingchen said next proved he understood their “big role.”

Xie Xingchen said confidently, “As long as your insectoid tech is solid, then with the Earth Trading Company brand and my reputation, there will absolutely be a ton of people willing to watch this holographic auction. If we set the ticket price a bit lower, it’s not impossible to set a new record. And…”

He casually tossed out a benefit: “And if we just sell tickets, people will curse us. But what if after buying a ticket, everyone gets one chance at a lottery draw? The win rate can be low—it doesn’t matter as long as the prizes are good. That way, we make money with a perfectly justifiable conscience!”

Hearing this, Hill almost wanted to applaud.

Boss Xie really was a commercial genius!

No wonder he had turned a newly opened trading company into one famous across the entire galaxy in just one year.

Look at how fast that brain worked.

Hill had only said one sentence, and not only did Xie Xingchen understand the subtext—he also handed over a complete plan on the side.

Hill nodded readily. “Alright. Then we split ticket revenue fifty-fifty?”

Xie Xingchen shook his head and negotiated. “No. Thirty–seventy. You take three, I take seven. After all, we can charge tickets only because of Earth Trading Company’s reputation—and even the lottery prizes I’m putting up.”

Friendship is friendship, business is business.

Even real brothers settle accounts clearly. They weren’t even brothers—so of course they had to be clear, right?

Obviously, Hill was extremely dissatisfied with a 30–70 split.

But it was also obvious Xie Xingchen would never agree to 50–50, so Hill stepped back. “Forty–sixty? We take four, you take six?”

Xie Xingchen frowned and thought seriously for quite a while. In the end, he nodded reluctantly and agreed to a 40–60 split.

But after both sides verbally settled the exact split, the “reluctance” on Xie Xingchen’s face slowly disappeared.

Clearly, his real bottom line had been 40–60 all along. His earlier dissatisfaction—and even the opening 50–50 offer—had all been preparation for this moment.

Since it was already settled, Hill chose to see through it without calling it out, and continued discussing the auction’s specific details with Xie Xingchen.

It wasn’t until the moon was high in the sky that the two finally stopped.

They parted ways by the elevator, and Xie Xingchen returned to his luxurious top-floor suite in the hotel.

After taking a shower, he put on a bathrobe.

Leaning against the headboard, his long fingers tapped the pillow as he fell into thought. Then he logged onto StarBlog.

[Xie Xingchen V: In 3 days, on May 4 at 22:00, Earth Trading Company will hold an online holographic auction of rare treasures. The auction will be conducted in private form (no livestream, no rebroadcast).

Below are the details:

1) This is an online holographic auction.
2) Technical support is provided by insectoid civilization.
3) Tickets are collected by the insectoids: 10 star-coins per person.
4) After purchasing a ticket, participants will receive one lottery ticket. With it, they can join a post-auction drawing. [Click to view prize details]
5) Click here to reserve your spot: XXXX]

After posting that StarBlog, Xie Xingchen took a screenshot and sent it to Hill.

Then Hill contacted the official Trading Day group manager, who posted it in the official group chat.

When the official group saw Xie Xingchen’s message, they quietly pondered.

But the idiots on the star network were already charging in.

Who cares what the auction is!

It’s only 10 star-coins—why wouldn’t they go?

If you don’t go, you’re letting down the version of yourself who camps Earth Trading Company every day just to snag items on time!

Ten star-coins can’t buy you a loss, and it can’t buy you a scam.

If luck strikes, you might win flowers/merch/jewelry/hanfu… and more.

And there’s also the fun of watching the spectacle!

The official post explicitly said no livestream and no rebroadcast.

Meaning: audience members can enter a private holographic live room to watch the auction, but they can’t screen-record or screenshot. So if you miss this drama, you won’t be able to go online later to find any video footage.

[It’s me, I’m the lucky goose: Gagagaga—if your bro wins something good, your bro will come to StarBlog to repay the blessing! I mean it. If I win something good in the auction lottery, I’ll pick 10 people and give each of them 1000 star-coins.]

[There’s fun here: I’m different, hahaha—I’m just here to watch the chaos! Paying 10 star-coins for some drama is totally worth it!]

[968ssup: I also think it’s worth it +1. Honestly, the moment I saw Boss Xie’s StarBlog, I knew the fun was coming—and it’s the kind you won’t get a second time if you miss it. So don’t even talk about 10 star-coins; I’d pay even 100 star-coins.]

Everyone was pretty delighted.

They had thought this month’s spotlight would be all about Trading Day, but who would’ve guessed Boss Xie would be so considerate(?)—as if he was afraid they’d be bored—and squeeze in an auction amid his busy schedule.

Hahahahaha, an auction.

Regular netizens like them actually got to participate in an auction?

Wasn’t this basically Boss Xie giving them a chance to watch rich people bid like crazy up close?

A lot of people still didn’t even know what would be auctioned—they just felt their source of joy was about to arrive.

But at the same time, some people said Xie Xingchen was getting arrogant.

He had been doing fine selling cheap items before—was he now going back to high prices after “harvesting the chives”?

There were plenty of those brain-dead takes.

But most people had eyes, and most people were easy to satisfy.

What Xie Xingchen had done for them was plain to see.

If nothing else, he had genuinely led the prices of green plants to become more affordable for ordinary people.

And because fans with decent values would report those comments one by one as soon as they saw them—

Being poor doesn’t mean you’re automatically right.

Someone worked hard cultivating rare items—do you expect them to sell you “treasures” for 10 star-coins?

He still had an entire planet to develop—what’s wrong with earning money?

The StarBlog post clearly said “rare treasures.”

No matter what something is, once it’s called a “rare treasure,” it won’t be cheap.

Anyone with even a shred of self-awareness knows how scarce such things are.

Do you really think you can buy a “rare treasure,” as defined by a cultivator, for a few hundred or a few thousand star-coins?

Dreaming shouldn’t work like that.

Most self-aware netizens positioned themselves this time as “melon-eaters,” “I’m here to broaden my horizons,” and so on.

They knew their place: they weren’t the real customers. They were just spending a little money to watch the spectacle.

And what about Xie Xingchen’s real customers?

When the manager posted the screenshot in the group, everyone acted indifferent.

But when they heard that the auctioned treasures seemed to contain 10% green substance, they stayed silent on the surface—while privately logging onto StarBlog, finding Xie Xingchen’s post, clicking the link, jumping over, reserving a spot, and paying.

As for Xie Xingchen—

He found Yu Cheng and told him the offline auction had been changed to an online one, then sent him the reservation link.

Well…

He didn’t want it this way either.

But reality forced his hand.

So… everyone would just have to make do.

Yu Cheng didn’t say much—only replied with an “OK.”

Xie Xingchen didn’t know whether Yu Cheng would come.

But he had put the message out there. Anyone who needed it would naturally show up.

As for those who didn’t—Xie Xingchen would assume they had no need.

After all, Earth Trading Company’s auction was already trending.

If someone still didn’t see it, then Xie Xingchen could only say they were destined not to earn him money.

Turn off the brain terminal. Sleep.

With one major worry settled, Xie Xingchen slept exceptionally well.

When he woke up—

Downstairs, his employees had already finished breakfast under the enthusiastic hospitality of his three robot buddies, and diligently headed to the Trading Day venue to man the booth.

Everything Xie Xingchen needed to purchase had been bought yesterday, so today he wasn’t in a hurry to go to the Trading Day venue.

After eating breakfast at a leisurely pace, he opened the employee group chat.

The two employees from Thorn Manor were eliminated—they were too shy and not suitable to be auctioneers.

So for this colored cotton fabric auctioneer, Xie Xingchen could only pick from the twenty-plus people in the design department, or find a professional auctioneer from outside.

Compared to hiring a professional auctioneer, Xie Xingchen preferred internal selection.

Because—

He only had one kind of product to auction, and simply reading out its green substance content would already trigger frantic bidding. So for him, and for Earth Trading Company, whether the auctioneer had deep experience really wasn’t that important.

In this situation, as long as someone had decent features and wouldn’t freeze up on stage, she could do the job.

With the bar set low, Xie Xingchen felt like everyone looked suitable.

In the end, he simply posted the auctioneer requirements in the employee group chat and let interested people compete for the position.

He didn’t expect his employees to be so enthusiastic.

Less than ten minutes after he posted the job content, Xie Xingchen received no fewer than five self-recommendations.

Xie Xingchen: Emmm.

Seems he still didn’t understand them well enough!

After setting a deadline—applications due by 21:00 tonight, with formal selection starting at 22:00—Xie Xingchen went silent in the chat.

He strolled slowly to the Earth Trading Company booth.

Xie Xingchen arrived at a moment that was both “perfect timing” and “bad timing.”

When he got there, several employees’ parents had just left, making them miss a good chance to meet him.

But for Xie Xingchen, that seemed like something to be grateful for?

After all—

Few young people want to meet elders, even if they’re just an employee’s elders.

After refilling the sunflower seeds that had been eaten up, Xie Xingchen called back the insectoids who’d been “forced” outside to stand guard by overly enthusiastic elders.

With everyone present and bored, Xie Xingchen taught them how to play Dou Dizhu. After a few rounds of teaching, when they started playing for real, Xie Xingchen was about to—

when suddenly, a strange voice spoke from behind him…

“You played wrong. You should’ve played the pair of 10s.”

The voice was very close. The sudden sound nearly scared him to death.

Pressing a hand to his pounding heart, Xie Xingchen turned around irritably.

When he saw that familiar teenage face, his expression became extremely strange.

Xie Xingchen: “Daxiong, why are you here?”

That’s right—the young man standing behind him was the rich second-generation kid from yesterday, the one who lounged around playing games while watching the booth!

He even had a name Xie Xingchen had envied most as a child—Daxiong.

When he learned the kid was called “Daxiong,” Xie Xingchen had even sighed dramatically.

Do people named “Daxiong” always have things others don’t?

Like Doraemon? Like money?

Daxiong scratched his head. A shy smile appeared on his youthful, collagen-rich face.

“Well, uh… my mom asked me to come ask you, Boss Xie—when do you want that fertilizer shipped?”

Xie Xingchen: “……”

Unbelievable. You came just to scare me for this stupid reason?

Xie Xingchen couldn’t help saying, “Is it possible—just possibly—that we could contact each other through the contact list?”

Daxiong shook his head bluntly. “Nope, can’t do that, because we’re not friends.”

Xie Xingchen kept smiling. “Is it possible—just possibly—that the contract has my contact info?”

The teen looked full of melancholy. “Bro, you’d still have to accept the friend request, right?”

Otherwise why would he run all this way?

Running a trip was tiring, okay!

His family’s fertilizer booth was super far from Earth Trading Company.

Xie Xingchen was left speechless.

For certain reasons, countless people had been trying to add him, and he really hadn’t paid attention to friend requests in a long time.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Xie Xingchen proactively gave up his seat at Dou Dizhu to Daxiong.

Daxiong had no idea what “politeness” meant. The moment Xie Xingchen offered, he sat down happily.

A true “silly son of a landlord.”

But Daxiong was still pretty reliable. After two rounds, he said he wouldn’t play anymore—because he had to handle business first.

He carefully confirmed the shipping date, quantity, and delivery method exactly as his parents had instructed.

After finishing, the boy’s ears turned red as he smiled at Xie Xingchen in embarrassment.

That shy smile made Xie Xingchen want to ruffle his hair.

Though this kid sometimes seemed unreliable, he was actually very lovable.

A cute face, clear eyes, and a childish innocence in his mannerisms—he looked exactly like someone who’d been doted on his whole life.

Even after only meeting him twice, Xie Xingchen couldn’t help softening when he saw that puppy-dog gaze.

Arms crossed, Xie Xingchen sighed helplessly. “Alright, what else do you want?”

In truth, when Xie Xingchen saw Daxiong’s eyes light up at the milk tea on the table, he basically guessed what was coming.

Sure enough—

Daxiong said greedily, “So, uh, bro—just hypothetically—could it be possible that you treat me to a cup of milk tea, since I worked so hard coming all the way over here?”

Xie Xingchen smiled helplessly.

Considering Daxiong’s family really did offer good prices—and he himself wasn’t annoying—Xie Xingchen not only gave him a cup of milk tea, but also gifted him an entire big pot of fruit tea.

Seeing the boy hugging the crystal pot and grinning like a silly deer, Xie Xingchen held back for a long time, but in the end still couldn’t help shaking his head and laughing.

After laughing, he generously gave him several kinds of snacks too.

That moved Daxiong so much he didn’t even want to go back to his own booth!

Maybe “having good vibes” was a real thing.

For some reason, Xie Xingchen felt Daxiong matched his vibe. He really was like a simple, lively little brother.

Chewing sunflower seeds with all his might, Daxiong asked curiously, “Oh right, bro—didn’t you say you’re holding some online holographic auction on May 4? What are you auctioning?”

As a young person, Daxiong immediately knew about the holographic auction.

But he couldn’t guess what would be auctioned.

Could it be food?

Daxiong fantasized.

If it was, he’d definitely sell everything he had to buy it!

However—

Xie Xingchen said casually, “A kind of fabric.”

Daxiong was disappointed. “Ah… fabric?”

Xie Xingchen nodded. “Yeah. A kind of fabric. But it’s special—it has a function everyone wants.”

At first, Daxiong had no interest the moment he heard “fabric,” but when he heard it had a function everyone wanted, he became interested again.

After learning indirectly that the final auction price might be high, he immediately went to beg his grandparents, uncles, aunts, parents…

Even after getting over a hundred million star-coins as allowance, it still wasn’t enough. He borrowed another thirty to forty million from friends, then withdrew every bit of allowance he’d saved over the years, and forcibly scraped together five hundred million star-coins.

With trust in the big brother who’d treated him to delicious milk tea, Daxiong splurged the moment the auction began. In the end, he bought more than two-thirds of the colored cotton fabric, singlehandedly making himself one of the most envied people for the next two years.

Why?

Because colored cotton had a long growth cycle, meaning that in the next two years only a small amount of colored cotton fabric would circulate on the market—and the quality of that circulating fabric wouldn’t match the fabric sold at this auction.

Because—

After learning that the colored cotton he grew himself produced fabric inferior to cotton picked from the Giant Cotton Tree, Xie Xingchen stopped selling the fabric made from that Giant Cotton cotton. He hid it away, using it only for employee rewards, selling to partners, gifting to friends and family…

After Waking Up I Inherited the Earth [Interstellar]