Chapter 18 Test
"There are all kinds of things in this world. Just because you've never heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Some people are born with sharp senses, and I'm one of them. If you don't believe me, feel free to ask me questions to test you."

The old man looked at Xu Qing twice, gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, you wait."

Having said that, he turned and went into the house.

Ah Qi heaved a sigh of relief and said with a sigh, "I was so scared. I've never seen the old man look like that. It was as if he wanted to eat me alive."

"The old man thought you betrayed him and stole his life's work, so he was naturally anxious and angry."

"You are really amazing. Can you really tell the formula just by smell?"

Xu Qing nodded and added, "But I can only smell the materials used to make the oil. As for the production time and techniques, I know nothing about it."

"That's pretty impressive, why can't I smell anything?"

Ah Qi took out the bamboo tube of oil from his pocket and sniffed it again and again, but could not smell anything except the smell of oil. He only knew that the oil refined by the old man was indeed good-smelling, much more fragrant than the oil bought on the market.

Xu Qing said calmly: "After all, people's physiques cannot be generalized."

As the two were talking, the old man came out of the house, walked up to Xu Qing and handed him a brand new bamboo tube.

The bamboo tube is tightly sealed, and the outer wall is carved with exquisite flower and bird patterns, which creates a different feeling at first glance.

"This is the latest formula I developed. No one else will know about it except me."

The old man said this and glanced at Ah Qi.

Ah Qi said with a sad face: "Grandpa, this really has nothing to do with me."

The old man said gloomily, "Humph, no one else would come to my shabby house except you. Who else could it be but you?"

After saying that, the old man turned around and faced Xu Qing, "If you can still tell me the formula accurately, I will believe you."

Ah Qi patted Xu Qing's shoulder heavily, his face full of sorrow, "Little brother, you must work harder! My reputation in this life is in your hands. If you fail, I can't wash it off even if I jump into the Yellow River!"

It’s not that exaggerated.

Xu Qing unscrewed the lid of the bamboo tube and took a light sniff.

The refreshing fragrance makes people feel as if they are in the mountains. Looking around, golden rapeseed flowers are blooming all over the mountains. The rich fragrance attracts countless colorful butterflies.

"It's rapeseed oil." Xu Qing said.

The old man said disdainfully: "Anyone can smell that it is rapeseed oil. Is there anything else?"

Xu Qing smelled it carefully again.

In addition to the fresh and elegant rapeseed scent, there is a slightly more mellow fragrance. This is the life buried deep underground, accumulating strength in the darkness.

"peanut."

Another light fragrance came, with a hint of sweetness, as if being in the fruitful golden autumn, full of the scent of ripe fruits.

"Walnut."

The rich aroma of herbs and trees hits your nose, with a slight spicy and stimulating feeling, passing through your nose like an electric current, invigorating your spirits.

"Sichuan peppercorn."

The rich and mellow flavor swept over, with a natural mellowness and a unique burnt aroma, with a deep temptation that made people salivate. "Butter."

Finally, there is a light bitter fragrance, fresh and refined, light but unique. The light aroma surrounds the nose, bringing a pure dew-like feeling, just like being in the mountains in the early morning.

“Camellia seeds.”

Xu Qing looked at the old man, "Old sir, am I right?"

The old man's eyes widened in shock and he was speechless for a moment.

You are absolutely right!
There are actually people in this world who have such keen senses!

Simply unheard of!

"...I'm convinced. Your nose is truly amazing. Alas, I never thought that the secret recipe for making oil that I have painstakingly studied for decades could be easily revealed by a teenager. I am really getting old..."

The old man's upright figure suddenly became a little hunched, and the confidence and pride that supported his body, and his vigorous spirit, seemed to be taken away at this moment, leaving only an old and decrepit body.

Xu Qing consoled him, "Old sir, my nose can only smell flavors at best, but how to harmonize these flavors and refine oil as clear as water is beyond my knowledge. Even if I knew the formula, if I want to refine such exquisite and clear oil, even with hard work and extraordinary talent, I'm afraid it will take decades of research to achieve success. I dare not say in the whole country, but in the whole of Sichuan, there is no oil-making master with more sophisticated skills than you."

Hearing Xu Qing's heartfelt praise, the old man's face lit up again.

If it was praise from others, he would naturally be dismissive. He had heard so much praise that his ears were almost callused.

But the praise from the talented young man in front of him was of extraordinary weight.

The old man thought to himself that he had lived for quite a long time and had met many outstanding people, but it was extremely rare to find someone as talented as the young man who could accurately tell the oil-making formula based on his sense of smell alone. It might take several hundred years for a person like him to appear.

Being praised so highly by a genius rarely seen in a century greatly satisfied the old man's vanity and sense of accomplishment.

The old man stroked his gray beard subconsciously and couldn't help laughing.

Being ignored, Ah Qi complained, "Are you really that happy? I've praised you a lot before, but you never gave me a good look."

Ah Qi felt extremely bitter inside, as if he had eaten a basket of wild hawthorns.

The old man said bluntly: "How can they be the same? You are you, he is him. Can you smell what I put in here? If you can't even smell the ingredients, how do you know what's good about my oil? Your praise is false, even if you have tasted other oils, you would praise it in the same way. His praise is real, because only he can truly understand that there is no other oil like mine in the world!"

"Yes, yes, I am the virtual one and he is the real one. Next time, I, the virtual one, will not come to see you. Let the real one come to see you."

Ah Qi said half jokingly and half angrily.

The old man was immediately furious, but he couldn't save face, so he could only throw out a harsh word: "Humph, come and love me if you want!"

Ah Qi didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "You really should change your bad temper..."

The old man has always had such a bad temper. When he was famous and wealthy, people regarded this as the arrogance unique to geniuses and were more tolerant of him.

Now that the tree has fallen, the monkeys have scattered, and no one will tolerate his temper anymore.

Fortunately, Ah Qi has known the old man for a long time and has long been immune to the old man's bad temper. If it were someone else, it would be considered amazing if they could tolerate him for two days.

Xu Qing looked at the two people playing and felt a little envious.

He could tell that the old man cared a lot about Ah Qi and basically treated him like his son.

(End of this chapter)