David Clark gave a faint smile and said, “Director Smith, I’m really not an expert, I just said a few things off the top of my head. The main issues were actually solved by Director Harris together with Chief Parker and the others.”

“Oh, just said a few things off the top of your head.” Fatty Smith nodded. “If you can solve problems just by saying a few things, that’s already quite something. Old You and his team’s export task this year almost fell through. Those few words of yours really saved Old You’s life.”

“Fatty Smith, are you planning to treat us to a meal or not?” James Harris said discontentedly. “If you’re too stingy with the liquor, I’ll just take Little David and Director Foster back to Hongxing Porcelain Factory.”

“No, no.” Fatty Smith said, “The food is all ready. Please, everyone, take your seats.”

David Clark didn’t know why James Harris wanted to treat him to a meal at Dongfeng Porcelain Factory, but he couldn’t be bothered to ask. Anyway, if any favors were owed, it would be up to James Harris to repay them. Everyone entered the small canteen, and as usual, there was a table full of good food and drinks. They began toasting each other and drinking. At the table, James Harris and Henry Foster kept urging David Clark to drink, while Fatty Smith remained rather indifferent, as if he didn’t think much of David Clark.

“Fatty Smith, what’s the meaning of this?” After a few rounds, James Harris tapped Fatty Smith’s glass with his chopsticks and said discontentedly, “You asked me to bring Little David over, but now you’re not saying a word?”

Fatty Smith smiled awkwardly and said, “Well… I did have something I wanted to trouble Expert Clark with at first, but later I thought, forget it, Expert Clark must be tired.”

Henry Foster could tell that Fatty Smith wasn’t being sincere. He knew that Fatty Smith originally wanted to consult David Clark about some technical issues, but after seeing how young David Clark was, he started to look down on him. As for what David Clark was really capable of, Henry Foster wasn’t sure either. But since they were already eating and drinking, it wouldn’t be right not to let Fatty Smith speak up.

“Director Smith, if you have any questions, just say them out loud for everyone to hear. Little David is quite young and doesn’t have any work experience in ceramics, so he might not be able to solve your problem. But Old You is a veteran in ceramics, and I’ve learned a bit myself. Who knows, maybe three heads are better than one, and we can come up with some ideas.” Henry Foster said very tactfully.

Fatty Smith also felt it was a bit inappropriate to stay silent. Although he didn’t think much of David Clark, it wouldn’t do to show his disdain openly. He put down his glass and said with a smile, “Our issue is probably not something Expert Clark would be interested in. But, this technical problem has troubled us for a long time.”

“Is it still about your insulator porcelain bottles?” James Harris asked. Everyone was in the same circle and knew each other’s business. “Tell Little David about it. Maybe he can give you some advice.”

“It’s like this…” Fatty Smith turned to David Clark and said, “Our factory has a product, an insulator porcelain bottle used in substations. But after the product gets to the users, they report that some of the bottles have poor insulation and leak electricity under high voltage. Because of this, we have to sell our products as substandard goods at a lower price. We’ve investigated many possible causes, but we still haven’t solved the problem.”

“Porcelain bottles leaking electricity?” David Clark mused. This was indeed a bit of a tough problem. He recalled the literature he had read, thinking about which part of the process might be the issue.

“Little David, let’s eat first.” Henry Foster tried to smooth things over. In fact, he knew about this issue at Dongfeng Factory. Several experts from the Provincial Institute of Technology had also looked into it, but couldn’t solve it either. He didn’t think David Clark could solve the problem, so he figured after the meal, he’d find an excuse to take David Clark away.

“Director Smith, could you tell me about our production process? What’s the structure of our kiln?” David Clark asked.

Sitting next to Fatty Smith was the technical section chief of Dongfeng Factory. Fatty Smith gave him a look, and the section chief walked over to David Clark, took out pen and paper, and drew a schematic of the kiln for him.

“Is this part open?” David Clark pointed to a spot on the diagram.

“Yes, it’s open.”

“I think it would be better if you sealed this part.” David Clark said. “You need to make the whole kiln airtight, and then, before firing, fill the kiln with some nitrogen.”

“Why?” The technical section chief was taken aback. “Our kiln has always been open.”

David Clark said, “I can’t be sure, but from the process you just described, these porcelain bottles shouldn’t be conductive. The only possibility is that oxygen ions got mixed in during the sintering process. Oxygen ions conduct electricity, you know that, right? I’m suggesting you seal the kiln and fill it with nitrogen to drive out the oxygen, to avoid the influence of oxygen ions.”

“Chief Brooks, does what Expert Clark said make sense?” Fatty Smith asked the technical section chief. What David Clark said sounded a bit mysterious to Fatty Smith, and he didn’t understand it, but the section chief was a university graduate from the 1960s, so he should get it.

The technical section chief’s mouth dropped open wide enough to fit a steamed bun. After a long moment, he finally said the same thing as Chief Parker from Hongxing Factory: “How could I have missed something so obvious!”