"The flag of the Ernst Thälmann Vanguard Organization, this is a rare find indeed. After the reunification of the two Germanys, most of these items were destroyed by the current federal government."
True to his decades-long profession, old Pierson quickly recognized the nature of the flag after carefully inspecting it.
"How much do you think this thing is worth?" Pierson, who had been rummaging through boxes on the other side of the corridor, joined in. "It should at least be worth more than those propaganda signs or the red and blue scarves."
"I understand that money is important, but in this line of work, you can't just think about money." In response to Pierson's question, the elder Pierson gave his son a serious look.
"You must learn to appreciate the cultural significance contained in these items and show them respect, only then will they reward you."
After briefly instructing his son, the group began searching around. As expected, they found a dozen or so blue and red flags from the surrounding paper bags and boxes.
"These should belong to the Ernst Thälmann Vanguard Organization or the German Free Youth Alliance, and some of them are even rare regional flags."
Old Pierson unfolded the flags one by one while providing explanations. "As far as I know, apart from a Cold War-themed museum in Berlin, there shouldn't be similar flags elsewhere."
"But this particular flag is a bit peculiar," Old Pierson remarked as he unfolded the largest one among them, a blue flag about the size of a single bedsheet.
"I've never seen a flag like this before. Lawrence, could you help me see what's written on this flag?"
"The German text here translates to 'Vanguard Armored Brigade,'" said Liang En, furrowing his brows. "But this is strange, because the military flags back then had specific regulations, and this flag doesn't comply at all."
"See, this is the importance of being prepared beforehand. Many times, our discoveries come from those unique aspects."
At this moment, Old Pierson gave his son a lesson, then pointed to the flag and continued, "The inscription on this flag is accurate. There was indeed an armored brigade in East Germany back then, but it wasn't part of the regular military."
"How is that possible?" Pierson exclaimed in a hushed voice, "This is an armored brigade, and armored brigades around the world are part of the regular military—"
"Wait a moment, I think I remember something," Liang En suddenly recalled certain information he had gathered from the internet before coming here.
"In 1978, when the Ernst Thälmann Vanguard Organization in East Germany conducted military training for children, there seemed to be a type of miniature tank that resembled a real tank—"
"That's correct, it was in 1978. To comply with the policies of child military education at the time, East Germany had a batch of scaled-down tanks specially manufactured for children by a well-known satellite car manufacturer."
"This tank has a top speed of 15 kilometers per hour, made of metal and plastic, and it uses the engine from a satellite car. Meanwhile, this Vanguard Armored Brigade also began operating under the supervision of the former East German State Security."
"However, these tanks only ran for about 20 years. When the Cold War ended, these military training programs for children were discontinued. Moreover, all the belongings left behind by this Vanguard Tank Brigade were destroyed."
As Old Pierson's voice fell, Liang En quickly added, "In other words, the flag representing the Vanguard Tank Brigade should have been destroyed."
"Theory is theory, reality is reality." Old Pierson carefully folded the flag after speaking.
"During the time of the reunification of the two Germanys in the early '90s, everyone had a multitude of affairs to attend to. So, in that kind of situation, it's understandable that some non-essential matters could be overlooked."
"But now these things are ours." Pierson enthusiastically said while helping to collect the flags. "They could never have imagined that the things they discarded as garbage 20 years ago would now become treasures."
After neatly organizing these precious items, they continued to clear the iron shelves in front of the warehouse.
Just as they had surmised, the individuals who had stored these items had a plan in mind before arranging them. Hence, the iron shelves held textiles, or wooden propaganda boards – objects that bore distinctive marks of the era.
"What's happening outside?" Just as they finished categorizing the contents of the last oil-paper package on the shelves, loud shouts and the sounds of things being smashed started coming from not far away.
Right at that moment, Pierson returned after disposing of the trash, and Liang En inquired about what was transpiring outside.
"Those folks who paid a hefty sum to win the auction for the warehouse with the weapon crates are in a pitiful state now." Pierson wore a smug smile.
"They had just finished cleaning up and were ready to examine their spoils, but upon opening those weapon crates, they discovered that every single box was empty."
"That's normal. After all, compared to what we are finding now, the weapons were undoubtedly the most sought-after items back then." Old Pierson pushed his glasses up and said, "So, it's not strange that the firearms were taken away."
Although theoretically, having all those gun crates turn out to be empty was a very ordinary situation, practically, for the person who had paid over sixty thousand euros to buy that warehouse, it was certainly a terrible blow.
No wonder during the nearly 20 minutes that Liang En and the others rested, the curses and sounds of things being thrown outside never ceased.
However, this was naturally unrelated to Liang En and his group. After resting for about 20 minutes and eating a little, they began sorting out the things covered by canvas behind the shelves.
"I think the people who hid these things were probably officials responsible for the Ernst Thälmann Vanguard Organization back then, particularly for the Vanguard Armored Brigade."
Upon opening a box and finding it filled with smaller tank uniforms, Liang En loudly informed Murphy and his father.
"Indeed, during that chaotic era, it was really difficult for ordinary people to gather these things together." Old Pierson nodded in agreement, then forcefully pried open a dusty box.
"An engine? There's actually a satellite car engine here."
Old Pierson's exclamation attracted the two young men, Liang En and Pierson, who quickly arrived at the box. There, they beheld an engine fixed in the center of the box and sealed with wax.
"It's so small—" Liang En had owned cars throughout his life, not just one, but several. Hence, he had seen quite a few car engines.
However, the engine before him now was excessively small, even smaller than the high-power engines of some motorcycles.
"This thing has two cylinders and is two-stroke, with a power output of just 26 horsepower. In some ways, other than being inexpensive, it doesn't have any merits." Old Pierson shrugged.
"There was a joke circulating back then. Want your satellite car to go over 100 kilometers per hour? Push it off a cliff."