After Waking Up I Inherited the Earth [Interstellar] – CH60

Chapter 60

When the moms and dads camped under Xie Xingchen’s StarBlog learned—straight from Boss Xie himself—that there was a flower tea that could relieve “heatiness” symptoms and actually tasted pretty good, they immediately grinned from ear to ear.

No one understood children’s chaos better than they did!

Taking kids to the doctor and forcing them to take medicine was basically a disaster.

And now? After Boss Xie rolled out the mugwort & mint balm, he followed it up with wild chrysanthemum tea. Just like that, two of the most common little kid problems were basically covered!

After confirming the listing quantity and release time, the parents set their alarms, swearing to snag the tea—tone and attitude included: “We’re not stopping until we win.”

[It’s almost time—everyone ready?]

Right on cue, the group owner popped up and @’d everyone. Starting with the admins, a group of several thousand people efficiently spammed “1” in response.

To buy Earth Commerce’s new release, parents with the means had already upgraded to the highest-spec terminals and even headed to Shepherd Star.

Those who couldn’t go to Shepherd Star had also geared up, mobilizing family members to help fight for their baby’s share.

As the countdown hit the final minute, everyone unconsciously slowed their breathing, eyes fixed on the link that was still gray.

They followed the timer in their heads, and at 59 seconds remaining, fingers moved.

They hammered the buy button like crazy—no idea how many taps—until the gray button finally turned green.

Those who managed to squeeze into the purchase page didn’t dare look at anything. They selected default options, paid instantly, and only relaxed once the payment notification came through—then they went back to check details.

[Hahahaha! My husband and I each grabbed one jar of tea—our baby can drink it for ages!]

[Hehehe I got one too! Only one jar, but if I brew it sparingly, it should still last, right?]

People started popping up in chat, and the usernames were familiar—mostly the parents who’d gone to Shepherd Star.

Turns out a “strategy guide” is called a strategy guide for a reason: it works. Traveling to Shepherd Star just to buy things sounded ridiculous and overkill, but… they really did succeed.

Statistics showed that among parents who traveled to Shepherd Star, 90% successfully grabbed the limited-purchase tea. Meanwhile, the success rate for parents staying on developed planets was under 40%.

Ye Zhongxi was one of the parents who stayed on a developed planet—and still managed to snag wild chrysanthemum tea.

Ye Zhongxi worked for a Star Alliance government department, so he couldn’t take leave easily. His husband, Yan Yan, was in the military and currently on assignment, so he couldn’t take leave to go to Shepherd Star either.

In the Star Alliance era, technology was advanced; same-sex reproduction had long been possible. After five years of marriage and countless plans and preparations, Ye Zhongxi and his husband finally decided to have a child.

Because Yan Yan was often deployed, their child was mainly cared for by Ye Zhongxi.

Their child was two years old now, and Ye Zhongxi had taken great care of him. Aside from constantly calling “Dad, Dad,” there were no big issues.

But kids’ typical problems—refusing medicine, crying at injections—were definitely present.

Every time it was time for a shot or medicine, the child cried until Ye Zhongxi wanted to cry too. Yet if you didn’t treat the small issues, they could drag on and turn into bigger ones, causing even more suffering.

Ye Zhongxi had joined this group because of the mugwort & mint balm. After joining, he realized having a parent group was actually helpful. If he had questions, he could ask directly, and the moment a question appeared, countless parents would eagerly reply.

You could say this group made his parenting journey much smoother.

[I didn’t go to Shepherd Star, but I still got it. My little Abao hasn’t felt great these past couple of days—when the tea arrives tomorrow, I’ll brew some for him and update everyone.]

Ye Zhongxi replied seriously in the group.

Among all the “hahaha we did it!” bragging, his message was the most pleasant to read.

After accepting everyone’s praise with a helpless laugh and promising he would definitely report back, Ye Zhongxi finally logged off.

At 9 a.m. the next morning, the delivery robot arrived.

After receiving the Earth Commerce package, Ye Zhongxi carefully opened it.

When he saw the dried wild chrysanthemum flowers inside a crystal bottle, a bright smile immediately spread across his face.

“Dad, Dad,” the child called again from the bedroom—his daily routine.

Seeing Ye Zhongxi still hadn’t come in, the child’s tone grew more impatient.

Ye Zhongxi had no choice but to go in and pick him up.

It was the weekend, so Ye Zhongxi didn’t have work.

Normally, he would treasure this time to spend with his child, but today…

His child saw his dad staring at a pretty bottle instead of mixing milk, and he urgently started yelling “Dad” nonstop.

Ye Zhongxi sighed and tapped the child lightly on the forehead, handing him the freshly prepared milk formula.

The moment the beloved bottle appeared, the child finally behaved.

Curled up in Ye Zhongxi’s arms, he drank obediently, blinking big eyes full of contentment.

But right after finishing and letting out a milk burp, the child coughed softly a few times and mumbled that he wanted “water.”

Ye Zhongxi didn’t fetch water. Instead, he handed the child to the nanny robot, took a round-bellied glass teapot, and dropped four wild chrysanthemum blossoms inside.

He poured hot water for a quick first rinse—when the water turned cloudy, he poured it out—then added a second pour, filling the pot.

The steaming hot water unfurled the blossoms. The clear water gradually turned into a translucent golden yellow.

As the flowers stretched, the chrysanthemum aroma grew stronger and stronger in the air.

Remembering Boss Xie’s note that kids might find it bitter and that a little sugar could be added, Ye Zhongxi poured himself a cup first. After blowing it cool, he took a sip.

It tasted rich and fragrant, with a hard-to-describe botanical sweetness.

It was delicious—but just as Boss Xie said, there was a slight bitterness.

For adults, that bitterness was nothing. Some even liked it. But for a child, it might be hard to accept, so Ye Zhongxi added a few pieces of rock sugar.

After the sugar melted in the warm tea, he poured a small cup and tasted again. This time it was lightly sweet. Satisfied—yet reluctant—he set the cup down.

“Dad?” The child’s big eyes were locked on his dad’s back.

Kids didn’t really know what “full” meant. The child had just had milk, and Ye Zhongxi didn’t dare let him see the chrysanthemum tea, so he kept his back turned while preparing it.

But the child’s nose was sharp. The moment the tea was brewed and the sweet aroma drifted out, the child started calling “Dad, Dad” again.

Ye Zhongxi quickly put the still-hot tea into the kitchen and shut the kitchen door to block the smell, then picked up the child and soothed him until he finally calmed down.

More than an hour passed. The child still coughed occasionally, so Ye Zhongxi asked the nanny robot to watch him.

He went into the kitchen, tested the tea temperature, and found it was warm. He took the child’s sterilized bottle from the sterilizer and poured the tea into it.

The moment he came out holding the bottle, the child’s eyes lit up.

He shoved the robot aside, toddled over with little da-da-da steps, hugged his dad’s leg, flashed a sweet smile, pointed at the bottle, and said, “Bao wants. Dad give.”

Ye Zhongxi pinched his son’s tiny nose and handed him the bottle.

The child let out an excited squeal, flopped onto the kids’ mat, crossed his legs, rested his head on a little pillow, and started chugging.

The instant it touched his mouth, his eyes brightened.

Clearly, this flavor was exactly his type.

After finishing, he shook the empty bottle anxiously. “Dad, Dad!”

Ye Zhongxi shrugged and smiled cruelly. “Calling Dad won’t help. It’s gone. You can drink more later.”

Abao was two, so he could understand what was said, but for some reason he didn’t like talking—he just kept yelling “Dad, Dad.”

Seeing his dad look serious, the clever little Abao realized there wouldn’t be more sweet tea no matter how much he called. He kicked his legs a few times in annoyance, then obediently played with the childcare robot… and eventually fell asleep.

And Ye Zhongxi, who had been watching carefully, was shocked to discover that after drinking that bottle of chrysanthemum tea, his son—who had been coughing now and then—didn’t cough even once.

This—

[Parents, confirmed: wild chrysanthemum tea works. My son drank one bottle and stopped dry-coughing completely. It also tastes great—add a bit of rock sugar and kids love it. No coaxing needed!]

For parents, what’s even better than medicine that works?

Something that works and the kid willingly drinks.

Now they had it—so if you didn’t jump on it now, when would you?

Ye Zhongxi was among the first to report back, and soon the chat exploded with feedback.

Some said the tea worked incredibly well; others said it wasn’t as miraculous as expected.

But without exception, every review mentioned the same things: the kids loved it, and it did help at least a bit.

That was enough!

Like Boss Xie said—it was just flower tea. Did they really expect it to replace medicine?

If it were that powerful, why wouldn’t it be sold as medicine outright?

Now it tasted good to kids and had some effect—what more could you ask for?

So with parents boosting it, Earth Commerce’s new product exploded the moment it launched. Wild chrysanthemum tea looked even more intense than the sunflower craze back in the day.

And that made Xie Xingchen receive another call from the relevant department.

But this time, he couldn’t agree to create another separate purchase link. He could only promise that each week he would provide an extra batch specifically for parents of children under eight to buy.

Because even though wild chrysanthemum was hardy, it didn’t grow like mugwort and mint—which basically grew like weeds. No matter how hardy it was, it still required time and effort to manage.

And besides, Xie Xingchen wasn’t an ordinary planet lord.

If he were an ordinary planet lord, he’d be overjoyed. But he wasn’t. He was an Earthling with a mission to rebuild Earth. So when facing these customers, he felt more helpless than anything.

“Mr. Xie, are you sure you don’t want to consider it seriously? This market is huge. It’s really worth investing in,” Minister Li coaxed patiently.

He couldn’t really understand Xie Xingchen’s thinking.

In his view, building a planet was a long-term project requiring both time and money. Now a path to massive wealth was right in front of Xie Xingchen—yet this planet lord wasn’t tempted at all and kept making excuses to refuse. It was…

“Boss Xie, you can see the situation. If you’re willing to supply more mugwort & mint balm and wild chrysanthemum tea, we can help promote you,” Minister Li raised the stakes.

But—

Xie Xingchen still didn’t budge.

He wore an awkward but polite smile. “Thank you for your appreciation, Minister Li, but I really can’t do more right now. The raw materials can’t be expanded at the moment. When output increases in the future, we’ll definitely list more products.”

Minister Li wanted to say more, but Xie Xingchen immediately added, “Don’t worry—I’ll do my best to plant more raw materials for these two products. Once we harvest, we’ll increase the product quantity immediately.”

With Xie Xingchen refusing no matter what, Minister Li had no choice.

He could only keep advising, hoping Xie Xingchen would change his mind.

But dreams were beautiful—and reality was brutal.

After talking for ages, Xie Xingchen still wouldn’t move. Just as Minister Li was about to push harder, Xie Xingchen found an excuse and slipped away.

After ending the call, Xie Xingchen wiped sweat from his forehead.

He was most afraid of this kind of friendly persuasion!

Listening was annoying; refusing was rude.

But the other party wasn’t wrong. He was doing his job, not using authority to pressure anyone. His words were full of sincere concern for children, making it so Xie Xingchen had to come up with a really decent reason to refuse.

Xie Xingchen: QAQ …being a good person is so hard.

Minister Li’s persuasion didn’t change Xie Xingchen’s mouth—he still refused—but it did leave a mark: Xie Xingchen went and bought more planting robots specifically to handle mugwort, mint, and wild chrysanthemum.

That way, even if he couldn’t increase supply quickly, over time production would naturally rise.

After a long period of fretting, hesitating, and self-reflection, Xie Xingchen finally pulled himself out of that irritating dilemma.

As if to celebrate his mood stabilizing, that night when the system shop refreshed, Xie Xingchen spotted a discounted treasure: white glutinous rice.

Xie Xingchen: ! Glutinous rice!

Before he could even think, his hand moved on its own. He clicked purchase before he realized it.

But when he happily took out the ten jin of glutinous rice, he felt disappointed again. It really was just rice—hulled rice you could eat but couldn’t plant.

As expected, the system never let players exploit loopholes.

If it says glutinous rice, it’s glutinous rice. If it says seeds, only then are they seeds!

He poked the rice sack and sighed, brows lowered, his refined face clouded with lingering gloom.

Blinking his youthful almond-shaped eyes, he looked quietly sad.

But the sadness came fast and went fast too. Soon, he brightened again.

Thinking of all the foods he could make with glutinous rice, he eagerly called for Get-Rich.

“Get-Rich, come quick—I’ve got something good to show you!”

When Get-Rich arrived, he opened the sack and showed him the newly acquired glutinous rice.

“Get-Rich, later we’ll use this to make something delicious!” Xie Xingchen said excitedly.

Get-Rich didn’t understand, but he’d learned to go along with his owner.

Seeing his owner so happy, he smiled and nodded. “Okay.”

But after a while, Get-Rich’s smile turned strained.

Who could explain to him why making food required first making a stone mortar?

Get-Rich, who was currently using machinery to grind a stone, couldn’t understand why his owner wanted a rock with a hollowed-out depression—and kept saying it would be extremely useful!

But robots didn’t think like humans. Once a robot received a task, it would do its absolute best to complete it. Whether the task was reasonable?

Oh—that wasn’t within the scope of what they considered.

So even though Get-Rich had no idea what the stone mortar was for, he followed Xie Xingchen’s instructions, carving a sturdy boulder into a “stone mortar,” then shaping a wooden stick into a weird-looking “pestle” (in Get-Rich’s eyes).

With the convenient tools done and plenty of time left, Xie Xingchen happily praised Get-Rich, washed the mortar clean, and took him to steam the glutinous rice.

The cooked rice carried a faint grain fragrance—light but long-lasting, the kind that made you want to taste it.

Xie Xingchen couldn’t resist. He scooped two spoonfuls, savored them, then reluctantly placed the rest into the stone mortar and handed Get-Rich the “weird stick.”

“Alright, Get-Rich—watch me. You pound it like this, keep pounding, keep pounding, until it becomes a single sticky mass.” Xie Xingchen demonstrated several times, then smiled and passed the tool to Get-Rich.

Get-Rich took the pestle and began pounding.

At first he was clumsy, but soon his rhythm smoothed out.

Repetitive mechanical motion was time-consuming and tiring, but it didn’t require thinking.

Honestly, making ciba (pounded rice cake) was hard for humans. For a robot like Get-Rich, it was nothing.

He pounded at a steady tempo. The sticky rice gradually formed a cohesive lump.

As the pounding sped up, the rice became smoother and shinier, the whole mass looking especially satisfying.

A robot was a robot—after more than an hour, Get-Rich still didn’t look tired. After finishing, he even seemed like he had energy to spare.

Xie Xingchen couldn’t help giving him a thumbs-up. All his admiration condensed into one sentence:

“Get-Rich, you’re awesome.”

Since it was his first time making ciba, Xie Xingchen didn’t want to waste all ten jin of rice. He only used about a third—still three or four jin, enough to make a huge lump of ciba.

Just looking at that soft white mound, Xie Xingchen knew he couldn’t finish it all.

He first thought about freezing it, but then remembered frozen ciba wasn’t as soft and fresh. So he scrapped that idea.

But if he couldn’t finish it today, what should he do?

After thinking, he realized he only had one friend.

Well, no need to think more. He’d send some to Ludwig.

And so, lucky Ludwig received the red sugar ciba that Xie Xingchen “saved from his own teeth.”

A heaping plate—at least thirty pieces—easily over half a kilo. It immediately lifted Ludwig’s slightly sour mood.

“Lord Aelsop, is that a gift from Boss Xie?” a guard asked.

The guards kept coming and going.

Each one looked busy, but their eyes kept drifting greedily to the plate piled high with snowy-white ciba in front of Ludwig.

Ludwig kept a blank face, but inwardly he sighed.

As a normal person, he’d long noticed their covetous stares, but…

With no way to avoid his guard unit, he gritted his teeth and shared half the food.

The guards cheered. Ludwig, suffering the pain of losing his snacks, still couldn’t eat in peace—he called Randy over.

When the little kid came running “da-da-da” and hugged his leg, Ludwig’s heartache eased a little.

But as the child ate faster and faster, the easing pain surged back even stronger.

“Randy, don’t eat so much,” Ludwig warned, stopping his uncontrolled eating.

But little Randy refused. He tilted his head, cheeks puffed, looking at his older brother with teary-eyed baby talk.

“Let Randy eat one more… Randy can eat one more, okay?”

Ludwig didn’t fall for it. “No. You’ve already eaten a lot.”

Anything in excess was too much.

Ludwig hardened his heart, lifted the plate, and tried to leave.

But Randy looked at him with watery, about-to-cry eyes.

With no choice, Ludwig quickly devoured the remaining red sugar ciba in just a few bites. And that did it—Randy, who was already on the verge of tears, completely broke down.

Randy pouted. “Waaah… big brother is bullying me!”

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