Old Mo, eating fish in a courtyard house, reigning supreme in Hong Kong.

After six months, in accordance with Chen Yinmo's initial promise, the first batch of return-to-hometown quotas were officially allocated.

All the applications to return home that everyone had submitted in advance were approved.

Without any cumbersome procedures or long waits, Chen Yinmo opened the spatial passage instantly with a single thought.

One hundred thousand couples, totaling two hundred thousand people, were designated as the first batch of interstellar returnees, granted temporary permission to return to Earth to visit relatives, reunite with family, and see loved ones.

On the day of their return, the Martian sky was bathed in rosy light, and a transparent stargate spanning tens of millions of kilometers took shape in mid-air, connecting the blue planet of China.

This is the portal that Lao Mo purchased from the system.

Two hundred thousand pioneers, side by side, tidied their clean and simple clothes, concealed their vast spiritual energy, suppressed their extraordinary aura, and stepped steadily into the Star Gate, carrying their hearts full of longing and undergoing a transformation.

A single thought can traverse the vast galaxy.

In the blink of an eye, we went from the spiritually rich Martian land to the ordinary Chinese homeland of 1975.

They are scattered across provinces, cities, towns, villages, factories, and streets throughout the country.

After half a year away, I returned to my hometown.

Things remain the same, but people are gone.

Their homeland remains barren, and time remains simple, but those who return are no longer the ordinary people they once were.

In the north, in the land of Qilu, ordinary farming villages.

The dirt roads are mottled, the courtyard walls are low, and the mud houses are clustered together. The old locust tree at the entrance of the village still has its old branches, and the road is dusty. Everywhere is the familiar barren scene.

Under the big locust tree at the village entrance, elderly people often gather to chat, children play and frolic, and villagers returning from the fields.

The sun was shining brightly, and a group of villagers, carrying hoes and bamboo baskets, sat in twos and threes under the trees to rest and chat. The topics of conversation, such as family matters, crop harvests, work points, and food rations, remained unchanged.

"This year's harvest is mediocre. Spring drought and little rain have made the crops in the fields look hopeless, and the autumn harvest will likely be even less."

"There's nothing we can do. We're at the mercy of the weather. We'll just have to endure this for the rest of our lives. We'll be content if we can barely make ends meet."

"Speaking of which, those young couples who left the village half a year ago signed up for some kind of space exploration project and disappeared without a trace. I'm afraid they'll never come back."

"That's right! It caused quite a stir back then, with people being selected nationwide. Who knew if it would be a blessing or a curse? They might have been fooled and never seen again in this lifetime."

Everyone sighed and shook their heads, filled with regret.

Six months ago, during the nationwide sensation of the Mars exploration program, three young couples from the village signed up.

They are all the most diligent, capable, and honest young people in the village.

He left cleanly, taking only a change of clothes with him, and bid a hasty farewell to his parents and relatives. Since then, he has been never heard from again.

The elderly in the village worry about their child day and night, thinking that since the child has gone far away and his future is uncertain, they will probably never see him again.

Just as everyone was sighing with regret!

At the end of the dirt road at the village entrance, two figures slowly walked towards them.

A man and a woman walked side by side.

The man was tall and straight, with a calm and steady gait. His eyes were clear and bright, and he wore ordinary clothes but they were clean and crisp, without any trace of rustic weariness.

The woman was gentle and dignified, radiant with fair and translucent skin, gentle eyes and brows, and a pure and otherworldly temperament. Walking on the dusty dirt road, she was like an immortal who had transcended the mortal world.

The two walked with graceful postures and extraordinary bearing, seemingly radiating a clean and pure aura that stood out starkly against the barren and rough rural environment around them.

All the villagers who were chatting under the big locust tree subconsciously stopped talking, looked up at each other, their faces full of confusion and unfamiliarity.

"Whose guest is this? They look so refined and elegant!"

"He looks young and has a great demeanor, unlike the farmers in our village who work in the fields all year round."

"A cadre from the city? Or a cadre who was sent to the countryside as an educated youth?"

Everyone stood up, peering in with curiosity.

The village is remote and impoverished, and few outsiders visit it, let alone a young man with such outstanding temperament, appearance, and demeanor.

But as the two slowly approached, the familiar features of their eyebrows and eyes gradually became clear.

next second!

The pupils of everyone in the village suddenly contracted, their faces froze, and their breathing stopped!

"Wait... those eyebrows! That facial contour!"

"This...this is Daqiang from Old Wang's family?"

"And his wife, Xiulian?"

A trembling, incredulous gasp suddenly erupted!

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence.

All the elderly, villagers, and children stood frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at the two approaching figures, their minds blank, completely dumbfounded!

How is that possible!

Wang Daqiang and Li Xiulian!

Six months ago, this young couple were just the most ordinary and unfortunate farmers in the village!

The man worked hard in the fields and chopped firewood in the mountains all year round to earn work points to support his family. By his early twenties, he had a slightly hunched back, dark and rough skin, and his palms were covered with calluses and cracks. He looked older and more tired than a thirty-year-old man.

Women are hardworking and thrifty, working day and night. They often eat coarse grains and suffer from malnutrition, resulting in sallow complexions, thin figures, and haggard eyes. Their faces are covered in dust from the wind and sun.

The couple lived a very frugal and miserable life, living in a leaky mud-brick house, wearing old clothes patched upon patched, and rarely eating meat throughout the year. They were trapped on this barren land their whole lives, working hard and suffering silently.

But here are the two people who have returned!

Where is even a trace of the impoverished, weathered, humble, and haggard appearance of the past?

The man was tall and handsome, with a dignified bearing, a pine-like posture, clear eyes, and an abundance of energy and spirit. He showed no signs of weariness or vicissitudes, and appeared young, upright, and energetic, as if he had been reborn.

The woman is fair-skinned, beautiful, gentle, and radiant. Her skin is delicate, her eyes are bright, and she has completely shed the roughness and rusticity of years of hard work. She is elegant, composed, and has an extraordinary temperament.

Don't even mention not seeing each other for half a year!

Even if their own parents were standing right in front of them, they would absolutely not dare to recognize them.

"Da...Daqiang?? Is it really you?"

Grandpa Wang, trembling, stepped forward at the village entrance, squinting his old eyes, looking him up and down repeatedly, his hands shaking.

Looking at his familiar neighbors and the land that gave him birth and nurtured him, Wang Daqiang's eyes softened with a smile as he stepped forward and said softly, "Uncle Wang, it's me. Xiulian and I are back. We've come to see our home."

His voice was gentle and steady, full of confidence and composure, no longer showing the restraint, timidity, and cautiousness of a young person in the past.

The moment identity was confirmed!

The entire village entrance was in an uproar!

"My God! It really is them!"

"The change is too drastic! It's like he's a completely different person!"

"How come you look so energetic, so presentable, and so good-looking after just six months?"

"He used to be dark-skinned, thin, and looked miserable; now he's fair-skinned, energetic, and a completely different person!"

The entire village gathered around, three or four deep, their faces filled with shock, amazement, and disbelief.

The news spread like wildfire, sweeping through the entire village in an instant!

The elderly Wang family parents were feeding chickens in their low, mud-brick courtyard when they heard the commotion at the village entrance and wondered what was making such a fuss.

Just then, the aunt next door came running over, yelling at the top of her lungs, "Uncle! Aunt! Come out quickly! Your Daqiang and Xiulian are back! They've miraculously returned! You'd never recognize them!"

The elderly couple were stunned for a moment, then hurriedly dropped the winnowing basket they were holding and stumbled out of the yard.

When I saw the tall, radiant young couple at the entrance of the village.

The two elderly people froze on the spot, their eyes instantly turning red, tears streaming down their faces, their hands and feet trembling uncontrollably.

"My child... my darling child..."

The elderly mother choked up, rushed forward, reached out to touch it, but dared not be sure, fearing it was just a dream.