Siheyuan: tomb robbing? I am serious about hunting.

Chapter 1156 Fire Stone

Looking in the mirror, his hair was a little disheveled from all the traveling, his shirt collar was a little warped, and his eyes were clearly nervous, a stark contrast to the calm Sister Zhang beside him. He quickly looked away, staring at the numbers ticking in the elevator, silently encouraging himself: Lin Shen, you can do it. Don't let people look down on you. The onboarding process went smoothly. Sister Zhang handed him an employee handbook, an access card, and a brand new ID card. The ID card was encased in clear plastic, and inside was a photo of him from before he started. In the photo, he wore his washed-out shirt, his hair neatly combed. He forced a smile, but the nervousness in his eyes couldn't be hidden, like a student taking an exam for the first time. Sister Zhang handed the ID card to Lin Shen, smiling, "Remember to bring your ID card with you to and from work. You can use the access card to access the elevator and the office door. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me." Lin Shen took the ID card, his fingertips touching the cool plastic, and a sudden surge of inexplicable emotions surged within him—excitement, anticipation, and a hint of inexplicable unease. He carefully pinned his ID card on the collar of his shirt and glanced down. The self in the photo and the office building and colleagues in front of him seemed to be from two different worlds. His father's voice became even lower and his head drooped. "It was your mother who discussed with your uncle Wang and wanted you to come back. By the way...by the way, they wanted you to send more money to your brother. Your brother said that he has a girlfriend and the woman wants a dowry of 30,000 yuan. We don't have any money, so we thought that since you have been officially hired and your salary has increased, you should be able to come up with the money..." "What?" Lin Shen stood there motionless as if struck by lightning. He looked at his father's evasive eyes, looked at his mother who lowered her head and dared not look at him, and then looked at the surgery fee in his hand that he had not had time to pay. It felt like something in his heart was broken, and it was full of disappointment. He clenched the money in his hand, his knuckles turned white from the force, and his nails almost dug into the flesh. He recalled his thoughts on the subway last night, his humbleness when he borrowed the money, his exhaustion from traveling all the way, and the trust placed in him by Brother Li and his colleagues... It was all a scam! To raise the betrothal gift for his younger brother, his parents had fabricated a lie about his father's fall and lured him back home! "You...how could you do this to me?" Lin Shen's voice was hoarse, filled with unspeakable grievance and anger, and tears couldn't help falling. "I work hard outside and live frugally, just to make your lives better and to make this family better. But what about you? In order to collect the betrothal gift for my brother, you actually lied to me! Have you ever thought about how anxious I was when I heard the news that my father fell? Have I ever thought about how difficult it was for me to borrow money?" His mother raised her head, tears also fell, and her voice was filled with tears: "Shen, we have no choice! Your brother is 25 years old. He finally has a girlfriend. If he can't come up with the betrothal gift, the marriage will be over! We are also forced into a desperate situation, so we came up with this idea..." "Can you lie to me because you are forced into a desperate situation?" Lin Shen interrupted his mother, the disappointment in his heart surged like a tide, "What am I in your eyes? Am I a tool for you to collect money for your brother?" His father lay on the bed, his face paler, his lips moved, wanting to say something, but in the end he said nothing, just turned his head to the side, not daring to look Lin Shen in the eye. The ward was silent, with only the sound of his mother crying and Lin Shen's suppressed breathing. Lin Shen looked at his parents in front of him and suddenly felt very strange. He remembered that when he was a child, although his parents were poor, they always left the best things for him and his brother; he remembered that when he was admitted to university, his father took the admission letter and walked around the village again and again, telling everyone he met, "My son has been admitted to university"; he remembered that when he came to the big city to work, his mother cried and told him to "take care of yourself" at the train station. But now, the family love that once warmed him has become so heavy and so strange. Somewhere in his heart, it seemed like a crack had opened up, and the cold wind came in through the crack, bringing a biting chill. He knew that from this moment on, the relationship between him and his parents would never be the same again. The fire in the morning mist The sky was just getting light, and the dark forest was like a sleeping beast, wrapped in thick morning mist. The mist, half a man's height, flowed slowly along the ground, staining the low bushes a grayish-white, and even the branches overhead were reduced to a blurry outline. Ah Yan, a young man from the Firestone Tribe, had been squatting on the eastern bank of the river for a while, clutching his polished stone axe. He didn't dare get too close to the river, only stepping on the half-dried mud on the bank. The mud was covered with fine gravel, which made his feet itch a little. The river was as calm as a piece of dark animal hide. The mist fell on the water, spreading faint ripples that were quickly covered by new mist. Ah Yan stared at his own reflection in the water. The mist made his shadow a little blurry, but the cinnabar-stained animal hide on his forehead was particularly conspicuous. It was made by his mother He last month after he and his father Lie caught a deer on their own for the first time. Cinnabar is mined from the red earth slopes deep in the Black Forest, ground into powder, mixed with animal fat, and smeared on animal hides. In the tribe, it's the mark of a would-be warrior. He raised his arm again, his gaze fixed on the light brown scar just below his elbow. It was from a wild boar hunt last autumn. The boar, struck in the hind leg by his father's stone arrow, charged frantically at the group. Ah Yan had no time to dodge, and the boar's tusk lacerated his wound, leaving a two-finger-wide gash that bled profusely. Later, his mother applied dried hemostatic herbs for two weeks before it slowly healed. The scar's edges are still a little hard to the touch, but every time Ah Yan touched it, his heart warmed. The elders in the tribe said that a warrior always bore a few scars, proof of battles with wild beasts and danger. Suddenly, a water bird flew across the river, its wings skimming the surface and leaving a trail of tiny splashes. Ah Yan subconsciously tightened his grip on the stone axe, his knuckles touching the edge of the axe blade, and the touch of the cold stone instantly sobered him up. He had originally wanted to take advantage of the coolness of the early morning to try his luck by the river and see if he could catch a few rabbits drinking water - there have been fewer and fewer prey in the tribe recently. A few days ago, the hunting team walked for most of the day and only brought back two skinny pheasants with little meat. They were not even enough to fill the gaps between the teeth when they were distributed to each household. But after squatting for so long, let alone rabbits, not even a squirrel was seen. Only a few small fish occasionally swam in the river, as fast as shadows, and impossible to catch. "Ah Yan! It's time to add firewood to the fire!" Mother He's voice came from the shore.