Henry Foster smiled slightly on the side. Whether or not David Clark had solved the problem, at least what he just said was professional enough. Just based on those few words, Fatty Smith's treat today was definitely worth it. Henry Foster found himself a bit interested in David Clark. This was just a demobilized soldier with a junior high school diploma—how could he know so much?

Fatty Smith, hearing the technical director’s evaluation, immediately changed his opinion of David Clark. He toasted David Clark several times in a row, then warmly invited David Clark to the workshop in the afternoon to give some guidance.

Once they arrived at the workshop, everyone began to believe that David Clark definitely hadn’t worked in the ceramics industry before, because he was completely unfamiliar with the kilns and other equipment. But when the kiln he had modified finally produced a batch of porcelain bottles with excellent insulation properties, everyone was impressed. Fatty Smith completely changed his previous indifferent attitude, slapping his thick, meaty hands on David Clark’s shoulders dozens of times. David Clark thought to himself, if he were still his frail former self, he’d probably have been slapped into a broken-armed Venus by now.

“小林, I really can’t believe it—you’re actually a demobilized soldier who almost didn’t even get a junior high diploma,” Henry Foster said to David Clark. “With your level of skill, there probably aren’t many like you in the entire light industry department of Xiangping Province.”

“Director Foster, you flatter me. I just got lucky, that’s all.”

“The mouse was indeed a dead mouse, but with so many cats, none of us caught it. You came and caught it right away. If you’re a blind cat, then what does that make us engineers—dead cats?” Henry Foster chuckled.

David Clark said, “Maybe it’s just luck.”

“Where did you learn all this knowledge?” Henry Foster pressed.

David Clark had already prepared for this question. He knew that the level of knowledge he would display in the future would definitely arouse suspicion, so he had already come up with a story.

“Well, I learned it from an old professor who’d been sent down,” David Clark said. “There was an old rightist living near our army base, said to have been a professor at Huaqing University. While I was serving, I often used my spare time to take care of him, so he taught me some academic knowledge.”

“What was his name?” Henry Foster asked.

“His name was Xia Hanmin. Of course, that might have been a fake name,” David Clark said. “Since he was labeled a rightist, he probably wouldn’t use his real name.”

“And where is he now?”

“He’s already passed away.” David Clark put on a sad expression, though inwardly he was quite pleased. An old professor using a fake name, already buried—no one could find any flaws in that story. In an age without the internet, there was no way to do a human flesh search.

“What a pity,” Henry Foster sighed as expected. “Such valuable talent. Look, he only taught you for two years, and only in your spare time, yet you’re already so outstanding. One can imagine how wise he must have been.”

“It’s all the fault of the Gang of Four…”

Chapter 006: Going Home

David Clark helped Dongfeng Porcelain Factory solve a technical problem, and the factory director Fatty Smith was overjoyed. That evening, he arranged another banquet for David Clark in the small cafeteria, with even better food and drinks than before—some delicacies that even Henry Foster rarely got to eat.

“小林, I owe it all to you,” Henry Foster said to David Clark.

“Oh, not at all, it’s all because of Director Foster’s reputation,” David Clark replied modestly.

Fatty Smith, hearing their conversation, smiled and raised his glass. “This meal is above standard. If it were just Director Foster coming, I’d be reluctant to host it. This meal is to honor our expert Lin. He’s young but highly skilled. The factory leadership all agreed to raise the reception standard for this meal.”

“Oh, I really feel embarrassed. Honestly, I didn’t do much,” David Clark felt a bit overwhelmed by the attention. In his later life as a graduate student at Huaqing University, he’d had many chances to accompany his advisor on projects and had seen plenty of big occasions. By those standards, this table of food would seem quite shabby, but given the prices at the time, this was probably half a month’s living expenses for a worker’s family.

Fatty Smith said, “Xiao Lin, you just said three words—what was it… right, oxygen ion. Just those three words solved a technical problem that’s plagued us for a year or two. From now on, our products can be sold as first-grade goods again. Just this alone means every worker in our factory can get an extra 20 yuan in their year-end bonus this year. Tell me, isn’t your contribution huge? I’m treating you to this meal on behalf of all our workers.”

“Lord Deng once said, science and technology are the primary productive forces,” David Clark replied casually.

“Science and technology are the primary productive forces—well said,” Henry Foster nodded. “Xiao Lin, was that said by Vice Chairman Deng? How come I’ve never heard it before?”

“Well… maybe… I can’t quite remember,” David Clark quickly denied. As a time traveler, the biggest trouble was often saying things ahead of their time.