“I heard from Director Lawson that you know how to smoke,” Samuel Lawson said.

Ethan Franklin smiled and replied, “I do know how, but it wouldn’t be appropriate to smoke in front of you.”

A kid who knows his boundaries, Samuel Lawson’s opinion of Ethan Franklin improved a bit more. Given Ethan Franklin’s status, he was neither servile nor overbearing in front of Samuel Lawson, which showed a certain confidence. But if he were puffing away on a cigarette, that would be a bit too frivolous.

Samuel Lawson didn’t insist. He lit a cigarette himself, took a couple of puffs, and then said, “Little Franklin, tell me, what can you do?”

“What can I do?” Ethan Franklin thought for a moment and smiled slightly. “That’s hard to say. Whatever my grandfather could do, I can do too. As for anything else, I can’t.”

“Whoa, that’s quite a boast!” Samuel Lawson almost choked on his cigarette. “Old Franklin spent decades learning those things, and you’ve only studied with him for four or five years, and you already know it all?”

Ethan Franklin said, “Of course I’m not as proficient as my grandfather, but I do understand the basics. My grandfather had to figure things out on his own, but I had his guidance, so I learned faster.”

“I remember Old Franklin knew five languages. How many do you know?” Samuel Lawson asked.

“English, German, Japanese, Russian, plus Spanish—that’s five as well… Oh, that’s not counting Chinese,” Ethan Franklin said. William Franklin had once told his grandchildren how many foreign languages he knew, and these just happened to be the same ones the previous Ethan Franklin knew. In the 21st century, the entry threshold for central ministries was getting higher every year; even PhDs from top universities and overseas returnees were just average. The Heavy Equipment Office was especially so. For Ethan Franklin to become a key reserve cadre there was no empty reputation—without real skills, how could he stand out in such a talent-rich institution?

“You say you know Japanese?” Samuel Lawson asked skeptically.

“Without using a dictionary, I can basically read all the documents from the Japanese side,” Ethan Franklin said calmly.

“And German?”

“When reading the professional books my grandfather left behind, it’s a bit difficult, but fortunately he bought a big German-Chinese dictionary before he passed away.”

“You know Spanish too?”

“I can handle daily conversations, but reading technical materials is a bit tough.”

“Is all this true?”

“This kind of thing… it’s hard to lie about, isn’t it?” Ethan Franklin said with a smile.

“That’s true…” Samuel Lawson muttered to himself. If he wanted to test Ethan Franklin, he could just hand him a few documents and see. Ethan Franklin was able to spot flaws in the blueprints provided by the Japanese side—without some Japanese skills, that would be impossible. Language ability is the hardest thing to fake; even if Ethan Franklin wanted to brag, he wouldn’t do it about this.

“Do Director Quinn and the others know about this?” Samuel Lawson asked. He knew this question was redundant—if James Quinn and the others knew how capable Ethan Franklin was, how could they have let him be just a general helper?

Ethan Franklin shook his head and said, “I haven’t told anyone about this… not even my parents.”

“Why?” Samuel Lawson was a bit curious.

Ethan Franklin pretended to be indignant and said, “What’s the point of telling? I’m still just a temp worker, aren’t I?”

“Then why are you telling me now?” Samuel Lawson asked again.

Ethan Franklin said, “I know I can’t hide it from you. You’re even more perceptive than Director Quinn and the others.”

“Maybe they just didn’t pay enough attention to you.” Samuel Lawson made an excuse for James Quinn and the others. Ethan Franklin’s words were clearly flattering him, but he couldn’t help feeling pleased, so he didn’t say much more. After thinking for a moment, he added, “Actually, if you hadn’t written that drawing number on my notepad, I wouldn’t have noticed you. You could have kept hiding it.”

“I couldn’t not write it,” Ethan Franklin said.

Samuel Lawson asked, “Why?”

“Conscience,” Ethan Franklin answered simply.

“I thank you on behalf of the country,” Samuel Lawson said solemnly. After that, he asked, “When did you discover this problem? Before this, did you try to alert Director Quinn and Engineer Lewis in any way?”

This question was already quite sensitive. If Ethan Franklin had discovered the problem long ago but kept silent until Samuel Lawson arrived and only then brought it up, it would suggest he had an ulterior motive. As the saying goes, “Don’t release the hawk until you see the rabbit”—that wouldn’t match the “conscience” he claimed.

Of course, Ethan Franklin wouldn’t leave himself open to such criticism. In fact, the previous Ethan Franklin couldn’t even understand the blueprints. It was only about ten days ago, after he transmigrated here, that he gained the ability to read them. The KBS-3720 drawing number wasn’t something Ethan Franklin found by searching through tons of blueprints—it came from his memories of his previous life. At most, he just found the drawing while moving papers and confirmed it again, and that was only a few days ago.