noffsinger Chapter 929 Wasting Resources?
Chapter 929 Wasting Resources?
Early morning, notebook, Kanagawa Prefecture, Yokosuka Port.
The air was filled with the salty smell of the sea and a hint of chill.
As usual, Uncle Jin, dressed in a well-fitting casual outfit, walked leisurely toward an office building at the Bald Eagle Yokosuka Naval Base.
When greeting the administrator Bob, he asked seemingly casually:
"Bob, how's that corner I asked you to tidy up last time, especially those old books used to prop up the cabinet legs? How's it going?"
“Don’t worry, Mr. Kim!” Bob said, taking the breakfast and boasting, “I’ve cleaned everything out carefully, just as you asked, and put it on the innermost bookshelf. Goodness, those books are really old, thick, the pages are all yellowed, and they seem to be in Chinese?”
"Well, it's just a personal interest..." Uncle Jin nodded with a smile, but he felt relieved.
He then casually added, "By the way, Bob, if I want to copy down some of the content, it shouldn't affect your work, right?"
"no!"
Bob's fat lips suddenly parted, spitting out some food residue.
But when he saw Uncle Jin's eyes turn cold instantly, he immediately realized that his tone had been too harsh, and quickly waved his hand to explain, putting on a fawning smile:
"Mr. Jin, please don't misunderstand! It's not that I don't want to help, it's just that damned rule in the archives! I don't know which damned clerk, when filing documents a few years ago, somehow stuffed those dozen or so thick and heavy Eastern books into the 'Special Storage Room' list."
Although everyone usually complains that they take up space and even uses them to prop up table legs... rules are rules. Items on the list are not allowed to be copied without authorization, even if they're just used as table legs!
Upon hearing this, Uncle Jin's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. A special storage room? Could it be that these guys, who usually scorned ancient Eastern books, had suddenly had a change of heart and recognized the extraordinary nature of these books?
Just as he was secretly speculating, Bob, seemingly afraid of offending this CIA executive who had been personally brought by the logistics officer, leaned closer and lowered his voice to say ingratiatingly:
"But you don't need to worry at all! I've checked. Although those books are on the special storage room's inventory list, their numbers are messed up and they're not on the official asset inventory list at all. To put it bluntly, they're in a 'forgotten corner.' The only reason you can't copy them now is because they're physically located in that damn 'special storage room,' even if their only purpose is to flatten that broken table!"
He winked and gave a knowing smile: "Next time the archives are rearranged or inventoried, I'll find an excuse to move them out of that room and throw them into the corner of the regular bookshelf outside."
By then, they will just be a few 'insignificant old books,' and you can read them and 'reference' them however you want, as long as it's up to you.
Even... if you really 'like' them, you can just take them without any problem, since nobody remembers them anyway!
"I see..." Uncle Jin's face regained its gentle, understanding smile, and he nodded. "Then I'll trouble you to keep a close eye on things."
"Don't worry, Mr. Kim, I've got it covered!" Bob patted his chest and assured him, as if he had accomplished something extraordinary.
……
After saying goodbye to Bob, who was enjoying his meal, Uncle Jin pushed open the door to the inner room of the archives and habitually scanned the slightly cluttered space.
Pushing open the door to the inner room of the archives, Uncle Jin habitually scanned the somewhat cluttered space. His gaze swept over several shelves piled high with modern military archives, finally landing on an inconspicuous little bookshelf in the corner—to be precise, most of that bookshelf was obscured by a stack of outdated local newspapers.
The newspapers looked like they'd been sitting there for a while; the top one was dated two weeks ago, and the front page prominently featured the Japanese headline, "The Hayashio-class new submarine makes its maiden voyage, showcasing a new level of technology for the Maritime Self-Defense Force," accompanied by a blurry silhouette of a submarine.
Uncle Jin's heart skipped a beat. This Bob is alright; he knows how to help hide things.
He stepped forward, pushed aside the newspapers that smelled of ink, and the small bookshelf behind them was finally revealed.
The once empty bookshelf is now filled to the brim with a collection of ancient and classic books.
The books had slightly worn yellow silk covers, large format, and a magnificent presence. There were no large gold-embossed characters on the book covers, but rather the words "Yongle Encyclopedia" along with the rhyme category and volume were written in steady ink.
Although the years have passed and some of the book covers have become worn, the solemn and vast cultural atmosphere still emanates from them.
"The Yongle Encyclopedia, Jiajing Re-transcribed Edition..."
Uncle Jin's lips trembled, a sight that would make any Chinese scholar who knew its value's heart race, yet it made Uncle Jin's heart clench suddenly, and a trace of uncontrollable heartache and anger flashed in his eyes.
"What a waste... what a waste!" he cursed inwardly. "These idiots have no idea what they're holding! This is a treasure of civilization, the crystallization of our ancestors' hard work, and they've actually... actually used it to prop up table corners and pile it up in warehouses, letting it gather dust and be eaten by insects!"
Uncle Jin slowly stepped forward, his fingers gently brushing over the cool and slightly rough yellow silk book covers. He then carefully counted them. Including the few books he had rescued from the corner of the table earlier, the "full" shelf in front of him actually contained only a dozen or so books.
"Sigh..." A barely audible sigh escaped from his throat.
The complete Yongle Encyclopedia, in its original form, comprises over ten thousand volumes, embodying thousands of years of Chinese wisdom. Today, however, it is scattered and fragmented, with only a fraction of the original copies remaining.
It is fortunate that I was able to collect these mere dozen or so volumes here, but when I think of the vast majority that have been lost to history, I feel only heavy regret and sorrow.
This was more than the number of fragments he knew he had collected in the CIA headquarters archives, but it was still just a drop in the ocean.
However, there are more important things to do at this moment.
Uncle Jin forcibly suppressed the surging emotions in his heart and looked away from the dozen or so volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia.
Collecting them was his responsibility, but decoding the intelligence was the top priority!
He turned around and casually pulled out an English-annotated edition of "The Art of War" from an ordinary bookshelf labeled "Eastern Military Theory".
Yes, compiling and organizing the Yongle Encyclopedia was his obsession as a descendant of the Yellow Emperor, unwilling to let national treasures be tarnished; it was a "personal matter."
The master code used for confidential communications with the domestic authorities was this more portable and inconspicuous copy of "The Art of War," whose content and structure he already knew by heart.
"I'll stay hidden here for now," he thought to himself, casually tidying up the newspaper with the "Early Tide" news printed on it and placing it seemingly casually in front of the bookshelf. "It won't be long."
……