Chapter 953 - 0953 Capital Chronicle 1
The situation in the Capital was more dangerous than in Shanghai, yet the Forbidden City Museum was well protected, and the Cultural Relics Bureau was also spared, allowing a large number of cultural relics to be preserved. Most of the damage was likely from items confiscated from people’s homes.
Valuable cultural artifacts and paintings in the homes of people like Wen Ruyu, Jin Ruochu, and Huang Qinghong had long been destroyed right in front of them.
Such fine treasures could never be retrieved.
Therefore, all Lu Jiang and Feng Qingxue could do was wander through the large and small scrap yards, scavenging as many cultural relics as possible. Constantly changing their appearance, they visited different scrap yards every day without arousing anyone’s suspicion.
After five days of hard work, Feng Qingxue realized when sorting and recording that the number of cultural relics found in the Capital’s scrap yards was in fact less than in Shanghai’s.
Of course, that didn’t count the items they had stolen from the cultural relics department.
"It’s quite normal." Having understood the situation, Lu Jiang had been prepared, "Most of what’s sent to the scrap yards are broken pieces of metal, furniture, porcelain, and the like. Gold and silver items would have been turned over to the state, and things like books and paintings that could be burned were instantly turned to ash."
There were particularly many large households in the Capital, with the belongings of over a hundred thousand households—a vast amount.
Feng Qingxue heaved a sigh, "Even though I was prepared, I’m very sad to think of the fate of those cultural relics and paintings that couldn’t be found in the Capital’s scrap yards compared to Shanghai’s. Let’s not talk about it anymore. Let’s go to the black market and the second-hand market, then to the military to see if we can meet Tianjun."