Becoming Rich with Daily Scavenging APP-Chapter 349: Lands Apart

The flea market in Osaka is not very large, somewhat reminiscent of street vendor zones in second- or third-tier cities back home.

But that’s quite normal, as large Japanese cities generally have many second-hand stores, so the good second-hand items usually end up in those stores, leaving the street markets with very cheap merchandise with low profit margins.

So most vendors just set up small stalls here to sell, which keeps costs down.

Chen Yiyang and Meihe chatted while casually browsing around.

Since the place isn’t big, even without intentionally searching, Chen Yiyang soon found the spot where there was a tip to find hidden treasures.

It was a small stall selling second-hand clothes, laden with inconspicuous Japanese traditional clothing of not much craftsmanship.

Chen Yiyang curiously browsed through some of the items at the stall, among which were quite a few handmade kimonos that looked about thirty to forty years old.

"What, are you planning to give me a second-hand kimono?" Meihe joked beside him.

"If I were to gift you something, it would surely be a cheongsam from our country," Chen Yiyang replied offhandedly.

"Great, I’m taking you seriously. Make sure to have a cheongsam made and sent to me quickly when you return home."

"But first, I need to take some precise measurements of your body tonight to ensure the cheongsam fits perfectly."

"Don’t worry." Meihe leaned her head closer to Chen Yiyang’s ear and, breathing out gently, said, "I’ll make sure you measure every inch tonight, so the data you gather is accurate."

Chen Yiyang was feeling quite flustered by Meihe’s teasing.

But their interaction seemed to annoy the Osaka vendor in front of them, who was fed up with their display of affection and coughed several times to remind them.

The people of Osaka are famously hot-tempered and argumentative, and Chen Yiyang did not want to provoke this Osaka uncle’s ire.

So he quickly asked Meihe to use Japanese to inquire about that inconspicuous kasaya in the corner of the stall.

"The asking price is 20,000 yen," Meihe replied.

"Then I’ll take it." Chen Yiyang, finding the price reasonable, took out his money and bought it.

Under normal circumstances, he would have haggled with this Osaka uncle.

But given the previous happenings, the Osaka uncle was already looking quite displeased.

If he’d angered the vendor more, Chen Yiyang feared the uncle might refuse to sell him the item.

However, after Chen Yiyang paid cash for the kasaya and turned to leave, the Osaka uncle muttered a few words.

Curious, Chen Yiyang asked Meihe what the uncle had said.

"He said you seem to really need a kasaya to abstain from female distractions, or else you might be drained dry."

"But aren’t Japanese monks allowed to marry, as far as I remember?"

"Traditional monks still cannot marry. It was during the Meiji Restoration that a law was passed allowing monks to marry to support Shintoism."

"So, except for some traditional sects, other Japanese monks can marry," Meihe explained to Chen Yiyang. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"I see," Chen Yiyang nodded.

Returning to the hotel, Chen Yiyang was figuring out an excuse to brush off Meihe for some rest.

But then Meihe received a call saying there was some company business to address, so she left first.

Alone, Chen Yiyang took out the kasaya he had just bought to admire.

That’s when he discovered four Chinese characters forming a poem stitched on the kasaya: "Mountains and rivers on different paths, the same moon and wind connect us. Sent to Buddha’s children, let’s bond for future relations."

This poem felt somewhat familiar.

Chen Yiyang thought about it and called a historian he knew back home.

"These aren’t poems, they’re gathas, chants in Buddhist scriptures."

The expert, upon seeing the photo Chen Yiyang sent, promptly replied, "If this kasaya of yours is indeed nearly a thousand years old, then it has significant historical value."

"What significant value?" Chen Yiyang asked curiously.

"Do you know about the Tang Dynasty envoys to Japan?"

"Yes, I studied it in middle school," Chen Yiyang had yet to forget what he learned back then.

"Before Japan began large-scale dispatching of envoys to the Tang Dynasty, a notable event took place known as the Battle of Baixiang Port."

The expert explained to Chen Yiyang, "Back then, Huaxia’s Tang Dynasty, in terms of culture and technology, was way ahead of surrounding nations. So small countries around the Tang Dynasty sent students to learn there.

But at that time, Japan was quite unwilling to submit to the Great Tang’s dominance. They allied with Baekje and sent troops to Korea, hoping to use Korea as a springboard to expand their power.

Then, the Great Tang sent their navy to engage Japan at Baixiang Port in the Korean Peninsula.

In this naval battle, though the Tang navy was outnumbered, their soldiers’ level of skill and the advanced design of their warships far surpassed that of the Japanese and Baekje combined fleet.

Ultimately, the Tang army won four consecutive battles, burning over four hundred of the combined fleet’s warships, halting Japan’s expansion into the Korean Peninsula.

It was because of this battle that Japan initiated a full-scale endeavor to learn from the Tang Dynasty and started sending envoys there.

However, at that time, the Tang Dynasty still had intentions of restricting military technology, so Japan’s envoys could only study the classics and literature in the Tang Dynasty, not technology.

To counter this, the Japanese Nagaya no Ookimi commissioned the making of over a thousand kasayas, with these four gathas embroidered on them, hoping to indirectly attract talented individuals with technology to Japan.

One of these kasayas was brought by two Japanese monks to the renowned Monk Jianzhen.

Monk Jianzhen was deeply moved at the time and made several attempts to bring large quantities of plant seeds, traditional medicine, culture, and calligraphy knowledge to Japan.

The Tang Dynasty government made several attempts to stop him, but in the end, Monk Jianzhen succeeded.

So, if the kasaya in your possession is indeed one of those commissioned during the Tang Dynasty by Nagaya no Ookimi, it’s highly collectible, essentially the same style as the one Monk Jianzhen had back then."

"That indeed has collectible value," Chen Yiyang was also learning for the first time that there was such a significant prelude to Japan’s envoy missions to the Tang Dynasty.

With the Battle of Baixiang Port known now, he finally understood the events’ underlying logic.

Those textbook oversimplifications can be detrimental.

He was always puzzled back in school about why the Tang Dynasty government didn’t allow Jianzhen to travel east, and now he realized the reason behind it.

Regardless, this kasaya was truly a remarkable item, worthy of Chen Yiyang’s collection.

Chen Yiyang planned to take the kasaya back home, placing it in his villa in Lin’an.

Previously, it was all about bringing back Huaxia’s cultural relics from Japan, but now he’s found a precious item from Japan itself.