Chapter 11: Treasure Hunting at the Junk Station

After leaving the brick factory, Lin Xiaodou walked to the southwest corner.

She remembered there was a recycling station nearby.

She had read so many time-period novels where the female lead often stumbled upon valuable finds.

She wanted to try her luck too.

Even though her space contained ten billion worth of supplies—enough to last ten lifetimes—no one ever complains about having too much money.

The recycling station was located in a remote southwestern suburb.

Under a large tree, an elderly man was sitting at the entrance, enjoying the shade.

Lin Xiaodou raised her eyebrows.

Wasn’t this the classic setup in period novels? A grandpa guarding the gate?

By that logic, didn’t it mean she’d have a bountiful harvest today?

The station was quite spacious, with three large warehouses, all crammed with various types of waste.

It was likely during work hours in the morning, so the place was nearly empty.

That made it easier for Lin Xiaodou to move around.

She entered the first warehouse, which was filled with discarded books and paper.

She had told the old man earlier that she needed kindling because they had run out of fire-starting paper at home, so she wanted to pick some up for the stove.

So she first grabbed a bunch of newspapers, tied them up into a large bundle with some nearby torn cloth strips, and set them aside. Then she began her treasure hunt.

Female leads in period novels often found famous paintings or ancient texts in these piles of waste paper.

Lin Xiaodou was feeling a bit excited.

She bent down and rummaged through the pile for thirty minutes.

But it was all in vain.

Some ancient-looking paintings were already so crumbled they couldn’t be pieced back together.

Others were half-burnt, leaving blackened streaks across the paper—crumbling at a single touch.

Sigh, such an unlucky start.

Well, it made sense. Any truly valuable items were probably taken long ago or destroyed. No way they’d still be around.

Still, Lin Xiaodou didn’t give up and searched again.

In a dusty corner, she unearthed a bundle of old thread-bound books.

At first, she didn’t think much of them—until she saw the words “Ling Shu” on one and her eyes lit up.

Back in her previous life, although she had studied veterinary medicine, she also dabbled in other fields, including traditional Chinese medicine.

It was said that the Huangdi Neijing (The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon) was divided into two parts: Ling Shu and Su Wen, the earliest known medical classics in China.

But the original manuscripts were never found—just countless rumors circulating.

Lin Xiaodou had always been interested in them. She had looked through mountains of information back then but came up empty.

She had felt it was such a pity.

Never thought… she’d run into them in this era!

Lin Xiaodou quickly opened Ling Shu and flipped through it—it became clearer and clearer that this was the real deal!

The books bound together behind it turned out to be Su Wen.

And behind those—Compendium of Materia Medica, Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold, Shennong’s Herbal Classic—all originals!

These were the very origins of ancient Chinese medicine!

Their value in the future was unimaginable!

Not even pausing to revel in excitement, Lin Xiaodou immediately stored the bundle of medical books into her space.

These ancient texts were treasures of Chinese civilization.

But here they were, treated like trash, gathering dust in a corner, possibly awaiting destruction by fire.

Now that she had preserved them, it felt like she had done a good deed.

Next, she found a dozen or so ancient recipe books, as well as some original versions of domestic and foreign novels, and threw them all into her space.

Since these were unclaimed items destined for destruction, better she take them.

Soon, Lin Xiaodou moved on to the second warehouse.

This one was mainly filled with broken porcelain, tattered clothes, opera costumes, and stage props.

Forget about the porcelain—it was all shattered into pieces. Not a single complete piece in sight.

Some of them were even blue-and-white porcelain. What a waste.

Her eyes turned toward the opera costumes and props.

Many exquisite costumes had been slashed to ribbons, and the various headdresses and props were smashed beyond recognition.

The instruments hadn’t escaped ruin either.

A snapped erhu, a torn drum, a broken-string moon lute, a paint-peeling suona…

All bore witness to the devastation that had occurred.

Even someone as tough as Lin Xiaodou couldn’t help but sigh.

These opera folk… truly born in the wrong era.

She didn’t find anything particularly valuable in the second warehouse.

But she still took a few usable props—horsewhips, swords, sabers, spears. She took a couple of each.

Then she came to the third warehouse, which was filled with broken furniture.

Lin Xiaodou perked up.

She remembered that in period novels, the female lead often found the best treasures here.

Things like huanghuali wardrobes, zitan screens, golden nanmu vanity tables—everywhere you looked.

Brimming with hope, Lin Xiaodou walked in.

And searched all around…

Not a single valuable item.

Just broken-down, ordinary furniture missing legs or arms.

Had all the good stuff really been hauled away already?

Refusing to give up, she copied what those novel heroines did—tapping at every table leg.

Hey!

One tap revealed many were hollow.

Eyes brightening, she pulled out a small knife from her space and began prying them open.

She had barely started when a chunk of wood fell off on its own.

And inside… empty.

Not willing to give up, she pried open several more. All hollow.

Clearly, by the time the furniture was sent here, someone had already gone through it and taken all the good stuff.

Those novel heroines who struck it rich at junk stations… probably had protagonist halos.

She just didn’t have that kind of luck.

Lin Xiaodou gave up completely.

She’d been at the recycling station for over an hour—her back was sore from all the bending.

She brought the tied-up newspapers to the old man at the entrance, who weighed them and waved her off after collecting twenty cents.

The bundle wasn’t worth much, but carrying it around was a pain too.

She found a secluded alley nearby and quietly tossed everything into her space.

Just as she was about to walk out of the alley, she spotted a group of young men at the corner.

They were hurriedly dragging a cart down a small path.

The cart was packed full and covered with a black cloth.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew it aside—revealing a corner underneath.

Inside—glittering gold and silver jewelry!