A man buys four books for less than one euro and realizes they are confidential Chinese government documents.

A Chinese man, a lover of his country’s military history and known by his surname Zhang, bought four books for less than one euro and realized that they contained highly sensitive military documents, immediately informing China’s Ministry of State Security.

The story was reported by the Chinese organization itself in a social media post that praised the man’s behavior. “If someone with ulterior motives bought [os livros]“The consequences will be unimaginable,” the publication says. However, exactly what documents Zhang found was not specified.

The purchase was made from neighbors who were selling second-hand items on the street after the man saw two bags of books being “thrown away” for just 6 yuan, the equivalent of about 77 cents.

After Zhang reported the situation, security agents went to the place where the products were sold and seized other books that also contained confidential information. After investigating, they discovered that two former soldiers had sold more than 200 military books, weighing a total of about 30 kilograms, to a recycling center for just 20 yuan (about 2.86 euros).

The Associated Press writes that Chinese and foreign consulting companies that “own or share information about the economy” are under investigation due to “an apparent expansion of the definition of state secrets in recent years.” “The opacity of China’s national security agencies and legal system often makes it difficult to ascertain what is considered a state secret,” the agency also said.