“Alright, I’ve finished reciting. Now you recite a poem for me too,” Laura Foster said.

“Okay, I’ll recite one too.” David Clark thought for a moment and chose a poem from that era to recite:

“I am your old, worn-out waterwheel by the river

Spinning weary songs for hundreds of years

I am the soot-blackened miner’s lamp on your brow

Lighting your way as you grope through the tunnel of history

I am the shriveled rice stalk

The neglected railway bed

The barge stranded on the silted shoal

With the towrope deeply

Cutting into your shoulders

— Oh, motherland!”

“I think the poem you recited is so strange.” Laura Foster stared at David Clark with her big eyes. “I don’t really understand it, but it sounds very pleasant. What poem is that?”

“This is a Misty Poem, comrade. The one you recited—I’ve never heard it before.” A young passenger sitting behind David Clark asked. In that era, there were many literary youths but few literary masters, so whatever poems were popular, the literary youths all knew about them.

David Clark hesitated for a moment and finally didn’t dare say it was his own work. He stammered, “This is a new poem by Shu Ting. I don’t think it’s been officially published yet. I just heard someone recite it and memorized it.”

“That’s great! Can you recite it again? I didn’t get it down just now.” The young passenger took out a notebook and pulled a fountain pen from his breast pocket to start writing. This fellow had three fountain pens in his pocket and looked every bit like a pen repairman.

After dealing with the literary youth, David Clark heard Henry Foster smile gently at his side: “Xiao Lin, not bad! I see your cultural level isn’t low.”

“Heh, in the army... I learned a few things too.”

“Not bad, not bad,” Henry Foster said. “When you recited the poem, your rhythm and intonation were spot on, which shows you fully understand the poem’s mood. For a retired soldier to do that, it’s really impressive.”

David Clark scratched his head, not sure if Henry Foster was praising or criticizing him. But back then, it was generally accepted that most retired soldiers didn’t have a high level of education, so what Henry Foster said wasn’t really out of line. Henry Foster was twenty years older than David Clark, so he was basically an elder and qualified to make such comments.

All the way, with birds singing and flowers blooming, by the time the long-distance bus entered Tanzhou, Laura Foster was already inseparable from David Clark. Tilting her head, she asked Henry Foster, “Daddy, can we invite Brother Lin to our house?”

David Clark didn’t wait for Henry Foster to answer and quickly waved his hands, “No, no, I still have things to do. I need to go back to Jiangnan Province.”

“No, I want you to come to our house,” Laura Foster said, pouting.

Henry Foster patted Laura Foster’s head and said, “Lanlan, don’t fuss. Brother Lin still has to go home. We’ll invite him over another time.” With that, he checked his watch and frowned at David Clark, “Xiao Lin, train tickets are a bit tight right now. I’m afraid today’s tickets are already sold out. If you want to leave, it’ll probably have to be tomorrow. Why don’t you really come stay at my place?”

That’s what he said, but he wasn’t too sure about it. His home only had two rooms, so letting David Clark stay would be a bit difficult. If it really didn’t work, he’d have to help David Clark find a bed at the work unit’s guesthouse.

“No need, no need,” David Clark shook his head. “I’ll go check at the train station first. If there’s really nothing, I’ll just find a guesthouse for the night.”

Henry Foster said, “How about this, I’ll go with you to the train station and check.”

David Clark replied, “That’s not necessary. You’ve been on the road for two days, and isn’t Lanlan tired? You should go home and rest.”

“I’m not tired!” Laura Foster said. As long as she could be with Brother Lin, she didn’t feel tired at all.

Henry Foster laughed, “Xiao Lin, it’s fine. Actually, it’s on our way. I’ll go with you.”

Back then, Tanzhou wasn’t very big, and as the provincial capital, it even had city buses. Henry Foster took David Clark by bus to the train station. When they asked at the ticket window, sure enough, there were no tickets left for that day. David Clark only managed to buy a ticket for the next day.

“Heh, now you have to stay here for a night,” Henry Foster said. “Come on, let’s go to my place for a bit. I’ll treat you to dinner, and then help you find a guesthouse.”

David Clark shook his head, “If it’s convenient, just help me find a guesthouse. I’ve never been to Tanzhou before, so I’d like to walk around by myself.”

Henry Foster hesitated for a moment and said, “How about this, I’ll introduce you to a place—the Hongxing Ceramics Factory. It’s a subordinate unit of our Light Industry Bureau. If their guesthouse has a free bed, I don’t think they’ll charge you.”

David Clark said, “That’s fine too. Thanks, Old He.”

In those days, blatant corruption was rare, but someone like Henry Foster using his position to help a friend get a free bed at a subordinate unit’s guesthouse wasn’t really considered corruption. Even though finding a guesthouse on your own only cost eighty cents, back then, saving eighty cents was still something to be proud of.