"Please come in," Sun Fengying enthusiastically invited Shi Lingmeng and her companions, "I knew you would have guests coming, and I’ve been looking forward to your visit. The rooms are ready, all clean and tidy. Feel free to settle in."

The door was wide open, and two other people inside the house came into view— a father and son sawing wood, Qu Zhicheng and Qu Yiyang.

They both looked up, smiled at the crowd, and put down their work.

"Yangyang, go and pour some hot water for the guests," Qu Zhicheng patted Qu Yiyang on the shoulder.

Qu Yiyang, in his early twenties, had ordinary looks, resembling his parents quite a bit. Hearing this, he hurriedly glanced at everyone and quickly went inside.

"I’ve brought them here, so I’ll leave them to you and your wife for the next few days," the village chief said. "I won’t stay longer, as I need to take another group to Granny Li’s place." At this point, he sighed, "Tomorrow is the food festival, and the village will be busy for the next few days. Thank you for your hard work."

"It’s no trouble at all, Chief. You go ahead," Sun Fengying didn’t hold him back much, as she observed Ah Chen and the others, praising, "City girls and boys really do look different, so handsome and beautiful, their skin so soft it seems it could seep water."

The village chief walked over to Shi Lingmeng and instructed her, "They won’t make things difficult for you, as long as you complete the tasks assigned, you can stay here steadily for three days."

"Thank you, Chief," Shi Lingmeng replied, remaining vigilant. The tasks would surely be done, but it was uncertain what they would entail.

Then the village chief took Ah Chen and the others to Granny Li’s earthen house, where an old and a young person were already standing at the door, precisely Granny Li and her granddaughter Qu Rou’er.

"Granny Li, I’m leaving them in your care," the village chief said with a smile, "I heard there are things here you need help with, and they can assist."

"Of course, of course," Granny Li replied with a beaming smile, "They’re guests of the village, and we grandmother and granddaughter will take good care of them. You can rest assured, Chief."

The village chief gave Ah Chen and the others some more instructions, reminding them not to go outside at night out of curiosity no matter what, and then he left.

Granny Li warmly invited everyone inside, and Qu Rou’er had already poured the water.

"Another year, another food festival," Granny Li began, "every time, some outsiders come to participate. The village chief says that having outsiders come helps spread the reputation of our Food Village, so more people come to know about it, and the village can become prosperous. It’s a good thing, but every time, outsiders get into trouble here." At this, Granny Li shook her head, "Even though we’ve repeatedly warned them not to go out at night, they insisted on going out."

"Some outsiders don’t follow the rules and get kicked out," Qu Rou’er added, her cheeks puffing indignantly, clearly upset about certain things.

Ah Chen asked curiously, "What mistakes did they make to be kicked out?"

"What else could it be?" Qu Rou’er huffed, "Carelessly wasting food. Even if we’re a food village with an abundance of food and varieties, it doesn’t mean food can be wasted. The villagers endured hard times, and none of them can bear to see such things, so they refused to entertain such guests and drove them away."

The group pondered, thinking this must be a hint— never waste food in the Food Village.

The second scenario felt more relaxed than the first, allowing them some freedom to interact with these NPCs, possibly gaining more insights into the Food Village.

"By the way, I have something I’d like to ask your help with," Granny Li’s tone suddenly shifted, her face growing somber.

Huo Jingchen asked, "What does Granny Li need our help with?"

This must be the task they need to complete.

Granny Li pulled Qu Rou’er to sit beside her, a look of nostalgia on her face. "As you can see, it’s just the two of us, grandmother and granddaughter, in this large house because my son and daughter-in-law left for work years ago, and they’ve been gone for more than ten years without a single letter. I don’t believe my son and daughter-in-law would abandon home, so they might not even be among the living anymore."

At this point, Granny Li wiped her tears.

The group murmured internally, hoping they wouldn’t be tasked with finding people, as that task would be too challenging. Where could they possibly search?

"Finding a missing person is already difficult, even more so for someone possibly deceased." Granny Li said, tear-stricken. "You city folks, I’ve heard your city’s science is advanced. I have a photo of my son and daughter-in-law from their wedding, but it’s water-damaged. Can you help me restore it?" She wiped her tears, gently patting Qu Rou’er’s hand. "They left when Rou’er was only three. The photo is so badly water-damaged it’s barely visible. I want Rou’er to see how her parents looked, so she has a memory. If ever she goes to the city for work, she can take the photo, and maybe someone who knows my son and daughter-in-law may see it. Whether they’re alive or dead, knowing their whereabouts would be better."

With the grandmother and granddaughter both teary-eyed, the group couldn’t help but feel sympathetic.

Learning it was just photo restoration and not searching for people was a relief.

However, despite having a backpack, they typically wouldn’t carry computers or the like; they did have phones similar to those used outside, although they couldn’t connect to the internet, making downloading photo restoration software impossible.

"Does anyone have a photo-editing app?" Huo Jingchen asked, as he did have his work computer in his backpack.

This is a benefit of inviting outsiders to help, as some personal items remain, which may come in handy.

Unlike Shi Lingmeng’s team, which had nothing from the outside world with them.

Huo Jingchen had a phone and computer, but neither had any photo-editing software installed.

He knew that some phone cameras had built-in features, but restoring damaged photos might require different software, not something typically included.

He asked the question while looking at Qin Lin, Wei Wenlan, and Ah Chen.

The three, all young women, often have photo-editing apps on their phones. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Ah Chen shook her head, "I don’t have any."

The commissioner was beautiful, and any photo of her could serve as a screensaver, making editing unnecessary.

Wei Wenlan shook her head, "I don’t have any either."

She wasn’t used to editing, and her photos were always unorthodox, with exaggerated expressions, yet her looks ensured they came out fine.

Qin Lin was naturally attractive, "I usually take photos with the original camera."

So she didn’t even know what a photo-editing app was.

This is the confidence of looking good.

Huo Jingchen: ...

That was a sad story.

Bai Xingwen covered his face, laughing, as many often complain about people editing photos, but now they genuinely wished for someone with photo-editing skills.

"I have a photo-editing app, but I’m not sure if it’ll work," Wei Yao said quietly, immediately capturing everyone’s attention.

How did he have it?

Wei Yao was a bit embarrassed. Why wouldn’t he have one?

Wei Yao took out his phone, and Granny Li brought out the damaged photo.

Upon seeing the photo, the group was stunned— was that a minor damage? The photo was faded and mottled, with only two people vaguely visible. Most of their faces were indistinguishable.

How could they restore this?