'I think I smelled something strange back at the lumber market,' Shen Yibin thought, carefully recalling his experience. At the market, besides the natural scent of wood, there was also a pungent smell of chemicals. He didn't think much of it at the time, but looking back now, something felt off.
The wood was shipped from far away and had to be stored at the market, with no telling when a customer would come to buy it. To prevent the wood from rotting due to rain or being chewed on by insects—which would lower its quality and prevent it from fetching a good price—the lumber merchants would certainly take some preservative measures. They usually soaked the wood in preservatives, using chemicals to prevent rot and deter insects.
