Chapter 22: Chapter 0022: Finding Treasure in the Trash 2_1 Chapter 22: Chapter 0022: Finding Treasure in the Trash 2_1 “Madam Xu.” Feng Qingxue called out, then said, “Please call me Qingxue.”
“Oh!” Madam Xu responded, her eyes red, “My girl, Qingxue, I don’t want anything else, just grains, coarse or fine, you can just bring them here. Even if I can’t offer anything valuable in return, my old friends still have quite a stash. We old folks, each one of us just hanging on by a thread, every household needs food to survive.”
“I understand, I get it.” Madam Xu’s identity determines her social circle, her old friends are either capitalists or from the Scholar Gentry, large landlords and such, all of them from unfavorable backgrounds.
“There are still more good people in this world! See, I’ve met you today.” Madam Xu sighed with feeling.
Feng Qingxue gave a slight smile, “Madam Xu, I spend all year dealing with food in the countryside, so I rarely venture into the city. I want to ask where I can find old furniture or windows and doors.”
Now that she’s left with nothing more than an empty house, she needed to install some doors and windows, and acquire a bed and some chairs.
Hearing Feng Qingxue’s question, Madam Xu was startled, but quickly got her bearings.
“Dear girl, if you want old furniture, try visiting the junk collection center. During these years of ransackings, the possessions in our homes, aside from what couldn’t aid in national development and was therefore destroyed, were either turned over to the state or ended up in the junkyard. The flea market also has people wanting to sell these old things for food, but it’s not as economical as the junk collection center.”
Upon saying that, Madam Xu gave it some thought and whispered, “My girl, I can tell you’re sharp-eyed. If your family background is good and you have a place to hide things without them being discovered, try visiting the junk collection center and the flea market. You’ve got food, what good thing can’t you barter for? Countless people sell things for money but still can’t buy food. This is an opportunity.”
Feng Qingxue was stirred and nodded.
Madam Xu sighed regretfully, “In chaotic times, gold is precious. In prosperous times, antiques. Although these are not exactly chaotic times, life barely differs. But you’re young, you can wait until prosperous times arrive. Then, when people’s standard of living improves, they will appreciate refinement, focusing on antiques.”
“I’ll remember, Madam.”
Feng Qingxue sighed, truly an insightful elderly. No wonder there’s a saying that having an elder in the family is like a treasure.
Madam Xu patted her hand, “Good girl.”
Not daring to linger, after exchanging words, they each went their own way.
Feng Qingxue put the bracelet into her space, carrying an empty basket, headed towards the junk collection center mentioned by Madam Xu.
Madam Xu had given her directions to both the junk collection center and the flea market. It was easy to find.
Madam Xu’s words reminded her, countless cultural relics were destroyed during this era.
Her grandmother once said that her greatest regret in life was to watch her house being ransacked and destroyed, countless antiques burnt on the spot, including many lost-transmission books.
Therefore, Feng Qingxue intended to acquire as many antiques from the junk collection center as possible.
She had space, so storage was guaranteed.
The policy of destroying old ways brought a brief boom to the junk collection center.
Although their town was small and relatively had fewer rich people, the junk collection center was not that big, yet when Feng Qingxue arrived, there were still two or three flatbed trucks carrying junk in, filled with scrap metal and such.
There was also staff guarding the junk collection center, sunbathing at the gate, needless to say, they were still thin and pale.