Chen Mo took the box, and as soon as his fingertips touched the cold metal shell, a complex smell rushed into his nose: first the mellow aroma of red oak, with a bit of metallic smell of copper nail anti-rust oil, then the bitterness of jasmine tea, mixed with the silk and bamboo aroma of Jinghu string music, and finally a hint of salty sea breeze - this smell is like a jigsaw puzzle, piece by piece piecing together the outline of the years. He remembered that his grandfather had said before his death that phonographs during the Republic of China had mostly Western movements, but the casings were mostly made of red oak. Over time, the owner's scent would be absorbed into the wood.
