Officers help retrieve 10,000 yuan from a recycling station. Screenshot of The Paper

When a man surnamed Xu went out recently, his wife did a thorough cleaning at home by herself and sold a box as junk in Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang Province. However, Xu's secret stash of 10,000 yuan ($1,483) was hidden in the box, unknown to his partner.

After learning the truth, Xu's wife immediately called the police. The policemen on duty found the old lady who collected garbage at that time, but she said she had sent all the wastepaper to a recycling station earlier that day. The police then hurried there and after nearly an hour of hard work in the 40 C heat, they finally found a thick pile of bank notes hidden in an old tea box.

Some netizens said they felt sorry for the police, while others sought advice on how to hide private money in a better way.