17: Chapter 17 The "Odor-Removing" Function of Jade

The coal smoke smell of the green-skinned train was like ink that wouldn't dissolve, sticking into the crevices of the iron carriage.

When Chen Jie placed his backpack on the table, the middle-aged woman opposite him was covering her mouth with a handkerchief and coughing; she had just returned from the dining car, her temples stained with a bit of grease, and a strange odor mixed with soy sauce and coal smoke wafted from her.

"Why is this train even more choking than a coal transport train?"

The woman frowned and fanned the air, the jasmine scent on her handkerchief overwhelmed by the smoke until only a shadow remained. "Young man, why hasn't your bag picked up the smell of smoke? It actually smells of fresh pine needles."

Chen Jie lowered his head and sniffed his backpack; the canvas was indeed emitting a faint herbal scent, the same smell as the pine forest at the campsite.

As his fingertips brushed over the bag strap, he felt the outline of that jade stone inside his tool kit—even through the suede and canvas, he could still feel the stone surface slightly warm, like he was carrying a warmed-up spice packet.

"It's from an herbal sachet I brought from the mountains," he replied vaguely.

He replied vaguely, though in his heart he knew clearly that this was the merit of the jade stone.

When he left Old Zhou's house, he had deliberately stuffed his smoke-tainted jacket into the backpack. When he took it out just now, the smell of smoke had vanished completely, leaving only the bitter scent of herbs on the fabric, exactly the same smell that drifted from the bamboo trays on Old Zhou's grain-drying yard.

"Your herbs are truly miraculous."

The woman peered into his bag. "My husband is a heavy smoker, and the smell of smoke on his clothes won't go away even after eight washes. What kind of herbs are these? I'll buy some later."

Before Chen Jie could answer, Zhao Kai suddenly leaned over, holding a newly opened package of braised food in his hand: "Quick, try some. I bought it from the dining car, but the smoke smell is too strong; it's affecting the taste."

He held the braised chicken feet out toward Chen Jie. The moment the packaging was opened, a strange odor of coal smoke mixed with the aroma of meat surged out.

Strangely, that strange odor suddenly took a turn half a foot away from the backpack, as if pushed by an invisible hand, slowly drilling into the seams of the canvas.

Zhao Kai was gnawing on a chicken foot and suddenly smacked his lips: "Huh? Why has this braised food become fragrant? It smelled like smoke just now in the dining car."

Chen Jie subconsciously unzipped the backpack.

The patterns on the surface of the jade stone were emitting a very faint green light, weaker than when they were at Old Zhou's house, yet it shone clearly amidst the aroma of the braised food.

Those horizontal and vertical lines seemed to suddenly come alive, "sifting" the smoke that had drilled into the bag bit by bit, leaving only the aroma of meat to drift out through the zipper, making the woman opposite him swallow her saliva.

"What kind of treasure is this bag of yours?"

The woman's eyes lit up. "It can even pick and choose which smells to keep?"

"Just a stone I picked up in the mountains, I'm just tinkering with it."

Chen Jie zipped it shut, and the green light instantly vanished, but the scent of the braised food inside the backpack became even stronger, as if it had just come out of the pot.

He suddenly remembered what Auntie Wang had said: her husband's green stone could automatically make the water in a pickle jar clear—so this jade stone wasn't just capable of Water purification, repelling dampness, and absorbing smoke, but could also "sift" smells, just like the tuning knob when repairing a radio, able to precisely keep the frequency band one wanted to hear.

Just as the train rounded a bend, the carriage jolted violently, and the package of braised food in Zhao Kai's hand slipped and fell onto Chen Jie's backpack.

The packaging tore slightly, and oil splattered onto the canvas, forming a small yellow spot.

Just as he was about to wipe it, he saw the oil seep along the canvas toward the jade stone, forming a tiny oil bead on the stone's surface, which spun twice and then disappeared, leaving not even a trace of oil; the canvas was, on the contrary, cleaner than before, as if someone had carefully wiped it with pine needles.

"Holy crap! This stone can also remove oil?"

Zhao Kai's voice cracked. "It's even more effective than that new washing machine of Wang Lei's!"

The middle-aged man diagonally opposite leaned over to watch the excitement, his enamel mug "clattering" against the tabletop: "Young man, are you selling this stone? I run a restaurant, and the kitchen has heavy fumes; I really need this treasure."

Chen Jie pulled the backpack closer to his chest. When his fingertips touched the jade stone, he discovered that embedded within those horizontal and vertical lines were some oil droplets from the braised food; when he rubbed them and smelled them, only the aroma of meat remained, with not a trace of smoke smell.

He suddenly understood that this jade stone's "deodorizing" was not simple absorption, but rather like a sieve, capable of separating mixed odors, keeping what he wanted to keep and removing what he wanted to remove—just like the old grandfather clock he had repaired; one turn of the gear could filter out the noise, leaving only the clear "ticking" sound.

"Not for sale."

Chen Jie shoved the backpack under the seat. "It's just a keepsake I picked up; it's not worth anything."

Zhao Kai was still muttering that "selling it could get a new mobile phone," but the woman smiled and said: "It's your destiny; don't trade it for any amount of money."

She glanced out the window. "We're almost at the platform, right? This smoke smell is finally almost over."

Chen Jie looked at the city skyline passing outside the window, suddenly feeling a bit panicked in his heart.

It was one thing for this jade stone to show its magic in the mountains, but if it made such a fuss when he arrived in the city, what would happen if someone set their sights on it?

He touched the tool kit; the wrench gently bumped against the jade stone, making a "clinking" sound, as if comforting him.

When the train's whistle sounded as it entered the station, Chen Jie slung the backpack over his shoulder.

The jade stone's temperature had faded, but it was heavier than when he had arrived, as if it were hiding a belly full of mountain forest atmosphere.

He suddenly felt that this "deodorizing" function might be the most practical one—the hallways of the Old neighborhood were always filled with the smell of everyone's cooking, and Wang Lei's braised food stall was constantly wrapped in cooking fumes; perhaps, once this jade stone reached the city, it could be put to great use.

Zhao Kai was urging him to get off the train in front, his steps as light as if he hadn't just traveled a long distance.

Chen Jie followed behind, the jade stone in the backpack quiet, as if it had fallen asleep.

But he knew that as long as there were mixed odors around, it would quietly wake up, like a diligent repairman, repairing the smells of this world until they were clean.