Chapter 1 – To become a well-rounded powerhouse as the underdog
“Why are you crying for my child?”
“It’s all my fault. If my brother can’t wake up, I’ll just follow him to death too…”
“What kind of nonsense are you saying?”
It’s so noisy…
Jian Luo felt his head buzzing. He remembered that he was in a car accident. Before he had a chance to react, he was hit and his entire world went dark. What was going on now at the scene of the car accident?
Jian Luo opened his eyes but the scene of the expected car accident did not appear. In front of his eyes was a dark ceiling and shelves packed full of miscellaneous things. The room was also filled with a very strange sour and musty smell. There were two people chattering beside him.
“Stop fighting……”
Jian Luo opened his mouth with difficulty. His voice was hoarse and weak.
Like a switch, his words suddenly ended their chattering and caused both the boy and the woman who were talking to rush to his bedside.
“Luo’er!”
“Big brother!”
Both of them jumped on him and the sudden pressure made Jian Luo feel that he could faint in the next second.
The woman asked eagerly, “Are you feeling okay?”
“I…” Jian Luo was weak so the woman picked up his trembling hand as she approached him.
The woman wept sadly and held his hand: “Do you have any last words to tell mother? Tell me.”
Jian Luo used up all his strength to speak: “Don’t press on me, I can’t breathe.”
The woman’s expression froze.
The little boy pushed her aside: “Mom, big brother said you were going to crush him to death.”
“…”
The woman straightened up embarrassedly. Still worried, she asked: “Luo’er, are you alright? Why aren’t you speaking?”
Less stressed now, Jian Luo took two breaths before replying: “I have a headache.”
The woman hurriedly said, “Then drink some medicine quickly!”
The tiny room was void of any light. The woman in front of him was holding a bowl of pure green soup. Some bubbles appeared on the soup’s surface from time to time. Take note, the soup was actually bubbling like a chemical weapon. Just looking at it would make one send shivers down one’s spine.
Suddenly, Jian Luo remembered the sentence – Da Lang, it’s time to take medicine1A cn meme. Quoted by a TV character in a warm manner, but is actually full of malice and intention to harm the person..
Jian Luo clutched his head as he said: “I think my head doesn’t hurt so much anymore.”
The woman was still very worried and still wanted Jian Luo to drink the medicine but fortunately, Jian Luo was quick-witted. Like he was possessed by an award-winning actor, he quickly clutched his chest in pain, thus successfully escaping the tough predicament.
The little boy who had been standing next to him asked, “Big brother, are you hungry?”
Jian Luo was so moved that he almost cried. He was hit by that car because he was too hungry and went out to buy something to eat. Now, despite not knowing what kind of situation he was in, he was still hungry!
The little boy said, “Big brother, wait, I’ll get you something to eat.”
What a good kid. It didn’t matter if we were siblings before, from now on, we are brothers!
As the child and woman left to procure some food for him, Jian Luo sat beside the bed and began to inspect the room. The roof was dark and the shelves were stuffed full of strange, colorful glass spheres.
The only source of light in the room was coming from the walls. Yes, there was indeed no light. In fact, the lighting was provided by the wall.
While Jian Luo was still looking around, the door opened. The little boy trotted over cautiously as if he was holding some treasure: “Big brother, mother said you were injured so you’ll need some nutritious food. This is rich in vitamins and minerals. It’s for you to eat.”
As he said that, he took out a glass tube from his pocket. It contained a green liquid. Maybe because it was shaken a little, the liquid bubbled up again.
Jian Luo: “…”
The little boy placed it in his hands. With his round eyes looking at him expectantly, he said: “Drink it quickly.”
Jian Luo glanced down at the test tube and finally couldn’t help but blurt out, “Is this place hell?”
The little boy was stunned.
“I’m dead, right?” Jian Luo boldly proposed: “So you want to punish me like this, by bringing me to this world where I drink poison every day?”
The little boy took half a step back, frightened.
Jian Luo thought he guessed correctly: “Is it true?!”
The little boy suddenly ran away: “Mom, big brother’s mentally unwell after being beaten in the head!”
“…”
This was too much.
Next, Jian Luo finally figured out the situation amid the woman’s cries and the little boy’s incessant chattering. That’s right, he, Jian Luo, a food blogger who wanted to eat supper in the middle of the night but was hit by a car that passed by.
He had passed on and was no longer on Earth but on another planet!
According to the woman’s description, the earth became uninhabitable 300 years ago so the humans were forced to migrate. They left the solar system and after a long period of wandering, they were finally accepted by aliens.
The planet that accepted human beings was the Dark Star, the ones with the most advanced and strongest interstellar technology. Although the humans lived here, the backwardness of their civilization and the fact that they are very dependent on the Dark Star people caused their status to became very low
Overall – the situation was tough.
After hearing this, Jian Luo’s mood was complicated.
The woman who was also his current mother, Su Liang, noticed his depressed mood and asked gently, “Xiao Luo, what’s wrong?”
Jian Luo was silent for a while before he finally said: “I was thinking, will I have to drink that green water in the future too?”
What the hell, why did humans have to suffer?
Su Liang was shocked for a while before she said, “How about mom go get you some vegetables?”
Jian Luo’s eyes lit up: “Okay, I want to eat some!”
It would be alright as long as he could eat. As long as he could still eat vegetables, who cares about the lowly position he had as a fellow human? Originally, when he lived on Earth, wasn’t he also just some petty citizen?
His position was lowly before too, the only thing that’s changed was the location. The details were trivial.
After waiting, the woman outside finally came back. She brought a plate of boiled potatoes and said: “Come on, eat up then!”
Jian Luo: “…”
The vegetables she brought back were indeed bona fide vegetables.
The potatoes were of the golden variety. It lay on the plate, peeled and did smell like potatoes. It was indeed a pure potato, but…!
Why did it really look like any plain, old potato2He’s probably just shocked at the way the potato was prepared. Like it was plainly boiled?
Couldn’t you fry it or at least slice it?!
Su Liang thought that Jian Luo was too happy to speak so she smiled and said, “Don’t worry, we still have some savings at home. These vegetables are worth two meals so eat them quickly.”
Jian Luo silently took the plate: “Mom.”
Su Liang: “Huh?”
“I need to know what’s going on here in detail.” Jian Luo was so sad that he couldn’t eat: “Describe the current living conditions at home especially, in detail.”
Only then did Su Liang confirm that her son really did lose his memory.
Through her explanation, Jian Luo finally understood why the powerhouses in the universe like the Dark Stars would accept the fragile Earthlings. The reason was really very simple!
It was because they were foodies!
The people from Earth had no other advantages, other than knowing how to eat well. All kinds of vegetable seeds could be turned into delicious food, which was very popular among Dark Stars and even other major planets.
Jian Luo: “Isn’t this a good thing? If you have the seeds, you can plant them on a large scale, right?”
Su Liang glanced at him: “Our seeds are all from the earth, however after the survival rate of our people was greatly reduced after the environment changed and the group of people who survived at the beginning, that is, our ancestors, were all high-tech researchers. How would they know how to cultivate the lands?”
Jian Luo’s heart sank: “So, what do you mean?”
“Many seeds failed to germinate due to light and environmental problems.” Su Liang sighed sadly: “Vegetables like potatoes have been planted successfully but these vegetables have to be paid back and taxed. How could we be willing to eat them?”
Jian Luo understood it a little more now. He had one question: “Since these aliens were so high-tech, can’t the seeds be planted in batches?”
Su Liang laughed: “For generations, their main source of food has been this nutrient solution, how would they know how to grow crops?”
…
So today’s human beings relied on farming as a job to survive. Without this job, wouldn’t they have been a lot worse off?
Jian Luo thought: “By the way, Mom, how did I get hurt?”
Speaking of this, Su Liang had an embarrassed look on her face.
Jian Luo guessed that something unpleasant must’ve happened.
“It’s not a big deal. If it’s money, mom will find a way.” Su Liang’s eyes were a little red. She looked very gentle, but she was tenacious: “You just need to peacefully recuperate.”
Well, it must’ve been a big deal.
Jian Luo looked around the house and determined that the family was really short on money.
“I see.” Jian Luo nodded: “I will rest.”
Su Liang said quickly, “Then eat the potatoes. Mom will go out.”
Jian Luo nodded. Although the potatoes were tasteless, they were better than that nutrient solution. While holding the potatoes, he connected a sort of information bracelet on his wrist to learn about the world.
The bracelet seemed to be hidden internally inside his bones and did not usually appear outwardly. A black smart ring will only appear on one’s wrist when you need to look at it.
Su Liang said: “If you need anything, just recite them in your heart.”
Jian Luo tentatively recited “Information Search” in his heart, and sure enough, a search box appeared before his eyes.
Unlike modern browsers, the interstellar search box is powered by AI. As a small glowing ball, it asked, “How can I help you?”
Jian Luo: “Search for the types of vegetables that can be grown and produced now.”
The little ball flickered before the information was presented in front of Jian Luo, complete with pictures and texts.
The first page in the search box was: wheat, potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, pumpkin…
“Twenty-five.”
After Jian Luo finished counting, he despaired.
In his last life, not only was he a gourmet, he was also a spice-lover. What crushed him the most was that there were no chili peppers among the list of plantable things!
Moreover, the method developed by humans of eating these vegetables were to all be boiled!
He felt a shiver run through him.
Just when Jian Luo was about to become disheartened, his focus was suddenly diverted to another page – Seed Collection.
He hurriedly said to the Lightbrain, “What is seed collection?”
“If your planting achievements reach great heights, you will obtain the right to cultivate the listed new varieties.” The Lightbrain replied: “The taxable amount will be reduced too.”
Jian Luo looked at the collections page and found that chili peppers were listed on the first page!
Turns out it wasn’t all lost.
It just has not yet been cultivated yet!
“Okay, okay.” Jian Luo cheered up: “Then, how do I become an excellent farmer?”
He couldn’t wait to start cultivating the lands to become a well-rounded powerhouse as the underdog. Among the working people, he’ll become the most glorious!
T/N: HEY HEYO HEYEOEOEOEO!!!! Special thanks to Ebarle for recommending me this!!! I love food and dragons, both which the novel provides. She also translates novels, check her out here! If you picked this up because you like interstellar titles, check out her work: Online Dating Boyfriend is Actually an Alien ~
Consider liking the writer’s work or buying a kofi for me <3 who knows, might update a lil faster hehe
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