Ding-a-ling...
The alarm on Chen Yang's phone jarred him from his sleep. He rubbed his eyes and checked the time on his phone, 5:20 AM.
At this time, even in the summer, outside was still shrouded in darkness. Apart from certain occupations who start their day early, the majority of the people were still asleep.
Chen Yang belonged to those who had to get up early because he ran a noodle shop.
This noodle shop was passed down by his parents. After half a lifetime of hard work, they had managed to save a small building and this noodle shop, both of which Chen Yang inherited.
Maybe to the outsiders, running a noodle shop might seem like a tougher gig compared to a nine-to-five job. Running such a business often required getting up early and staying up late, tens of times harder than working eight hours a day. But there were exceptions, like Chen Yang.
Chen Yang, who lacked ambition, never sought wealth and riches. He was content with peace and some pocket change. His noodle shop was typically open during two crucial periods – the morning rush hour traffic and night shift workers. These two segments were relatively easy to cater to, and accounted for sixty to seventy percent of his daily earnings. This is how he could have a relatively relaxed life and still guarantee a steady source of income. Relying solely on rental income hardly gave him much.
After getting out of bed, brushing his teeth and washing his face, Chen Yang was about to go out when he abruptly remembered that his circumstances were not like before. The events of the previous day played in his mind, and he broke out in a cold sweat, before his glance went towards his not particularly remarkable right hand with trepidation.
Uh, why isn't it saying anything? Is it...gone?
Or was everything that happened just a dream?
He pinched the skin of his right hand, it felt rough and powerful, and was an ordinary right hand, nothing unusual about it. Chen Yang was puzzled for a moment as he tried to figure out the situation.
"Umm..."
He opened his mouth and then closed it. Chen Yang wiggled his ears, pondered for a minute, then finally decided to proceed with his day as per his normal routine.
As usual, Chen Yang locked his house, walked out of the alley, and under the dim street lights, he walked towards the narrow street where his noodle shop was located, which had been standing there for thirty years.
In the compact street, his noodle shop wasn't the only one. There were already quite a few long-standing breakfast shops that had started their day. There were even a couple of mobile vendors who sold Youtiao and soy milk who were beginning to set up their stools and tables.
Chen Yang slid open the shutter door, stepped into his noodle shop, took out his broom and swept away the dirt from the floor, then promptly got to boiling water and kneading the noodles.
Kneading is the foundation of making hand-pulled noodles and is critical. The quality of kneading directly affects the formation rate of gluten in the dough. Only when the dough is properly kneaded can you achieve a high quality product. The texture on the palate is incomparable to regular noodles, and that's precisely where the charm of hand-pulled noodles lies. Although there are ready-mixes available now, Chen Yang's dad relied on his genuine hand-kneading skills throughout his noodle-making career, and it wasn't something that a instant mix could replace.
While Chen Yang's skill certainly couldn't compare to his father's, he had seen his dad knead the dough countless times growing up, and had thus picked up the standard kneading techniques. His hands effortlessly kneaded the dough.
The dough having been kneaded, it was now time to let it rest.
This resting stage, known as proofing, called for leaving the dough for a while, about 20 minutes in the summer. In this time, Chen Yang could take a peaceful break, may be, have a hot cup of water.
Normally, finishing a cup of hot water should be simple. But let's say his right hand, intended to get the cup of hot water, suddenly, and out of control, picks up the rolling pin beside it and smacks him on his forehead, then, anyone's mood would surely be affected.
Luckily the blow wasn't heavy. Chen Yang quickly collected himself and nervously stammered, "Ummm, err, honorable, fierce …um, are you…awake?"
His right hand morphed into a terrifying form, scanned its surroundings, and asked, "Where are we?"
"Uh, this is the noodle shop that I run," Chen Yang answered humbly.
"Noodle shop?"
The right hand did not dispute this. "Have you kept that item I gave you in a safe place?"
"That item? Yes, no problem, absolutely no problem. I put it in the safest and most reliable place in my home. Apart from me, no one could find it!" Chen Yang replied hastily.
"What are you doing here?"
The right hand's question seemed to be asked casually. It did not probe further after Chen Yang responded, but went on to ask another question.
"Wh-what?"
Chen Yang scratched the back of his head with his left hand because the question posed by Right Hand was too simple, no, rather than calling it simple, it's better to say plain boring. He didn't know how to respond at all.
After thinking for a bit, Chen Yang cautiously answered, "What I'm doing here, according to what we humans call it, is earning money. This earning money, it's mainly about accumulating a form of credit currency so that I can exchange it for my necessary living needs..."
"Money... I need money..."
Interrupting Chen Yang's explanation, Right Hand suddenly declared, "A lot of money."
"You need a lot of money? This..."
Chen Yang was a bit perplexed. Aliens need money too?
"Yes, a lot of money. As a host, you belong to almost the lowest class among your human society. The resources I want to acquire are impossible to get from your current status, so we need a lot of currency."
Chen Yang felt a bit embarrassed. Was he being looked down on by an alien?
However, Chen Yang was immediately excited. It was a good thing that the unknown creature put forward its demands. It's much better than not telling him anything previously. As the saying goes, where there's a need, there's a loophole. Once this unknown creature puts forward the request, will it give him the opportunity for promotion? Um, no, it's flattery. Well, that's not right either. It's taking the opportunity to extract intelligence.
So, Chen Yang opened his mouth, ready to offer some advice. He felt like he was channeling the wisdom of Zhuge Liang!
He even rubbed his chin, which, while not sporting a lofty beard, at least had some stubble, with his left hand. A wisp of confident and charming smile emerged on his face as he spoke slowly: "I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should say it..."
"Ah... Wait a minute..."
Before he could finish, Right Hand gave him a slap, leaving Chen Yang's face swollen.
This wasn't what he expected at all - shouldn't he, at least, say "please speak"? Why did he hit me? As expected, barbarians from other planets are unreasonable.
With a mournful face, Chen Yang hurriedly said, "Actually, boss, you might not understand the situation on Earth because you just arrived. You don't have to be so polite, as earthlings are weak. They're afraid of death and shameless. As long as you show your real power and commit genocide, you won't need any money. Many people will cry and beg to give you whatever you want. At that point, won't it be easy for you to dominate Earth and get whatever resources you want? Of course, if you are not willing to communicate with these stupid humans, I wouldn't mind doing all the dirty work for you..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he received yet another slap on his left cheek.
"Idiot!"
"Do you think I'm in the state to suppress all humanity with force right now?"
Right Hand, cold as ever, added another slap to Chen Yang's face after saying this, "Next time if you speak without using your brain, the punishment will be doubled."
Chen Yang held his face with his left hand, forced to admit that it really hurt to get slapped in the face. Meanwhile, an unparalleled rage rose in his heart - damn it, even my father never beat me as a child, how dare this insignificant alien hit me... Ah!
Chen Yang screamed again, he had forgotten that Right Hand could sense his emotions.
Humans are creatures famous for their adaptability. Chen Yang swallowed his tears and blood, and put on a sycophantic smile, "Boss, you don't have to be angry. I actually have a few other feasible plans..."
"As for making money, although there are many ways in today's world, if we're talking about the most profitable ones, smuggling, drug trafficking, and bank robbery are the fastest. Considering our current conditions, smuggling and drug trafficking are impractical, so I strongly recommend robbing a bank."
As he spoke, Chen Yang glanced around as if afraid of eavesdroppers and lowered his voice, "Boss, based on my long observation, that bank on Zhi Shui Street is very easy to rob, whether in terms of traffic or security. As long as we... hehe!"
Chen Yang had a grudge against that bank because once, one of the bank clerks had given him a cold stare. It would be ungentlemanly not to revenge at this moment.
"Rob a bank? No, we cannot attract human society's attention at the moment."
Right Hand immediately dismissed Chen Yang's proposal.
Chen Yang didn't get discouraged and proceeded to present another plan.