Dongfeng Porcelain Factory

  Lin Zhenhua was confused, but since others were so enthusiastic about keeping him, he couldn't bear to not give them face. He had also intended to see more scenes when he first arrived in this world, so after hesitating for a few words, he agreed to You Jianmin's generous invitation.

  Yu Jianmin sent a director surnamed Zhang from the factory office, driving a BJ Jeep, to accompany Lin Zhenhua on a tour of Changsha City. In that era, tourist attractions were not well developed, and some precious ancient sites had been inexplicably occupied by units as offices, so Lin Zhenhua couldn't see much, just strolling around the streets and taking in the street views.

  As they were passing by the first department store in Changsha, Director Zhang said to the driver, "Stop here for a moment. I'll take Expert Lin to buy some things."

  Lin Zhenhua hastily waved his hand: "Director Zhang, I don't need to buy anything."

  "Director Yu has handed over, you just follow me." Director Zhang dragged Lin Zhenhua into the department store by force.

  "Waiter, this flowered cloth is really cool, how much per foot?"

  6 yuan and 50 cents.

  "Come for ten feet." Director Zhang said, and then slapped out two big knots, as well as several cloth tickets.

  "Director Zhang, are you buying fabric for your daughter?" Lin Zhenhua asked gloomily.

  "No, didn't you just say on the bus that you have a sister? You're going home and not bringing any gifts for your sister? This kind of cool cloth is exactly what big girls like." Director Zhang said.

  "This..." Lin Zhenhua was stunned, "Director Zhang, I'll pay then."

  "No need, Director Yu has said that this money will be paid by the factory's entertainment expenses, so you don't have to worry about it," said Director Zhang.

  After buying the fabric, he went to the tobacco and wine counter. Director Zhang bought several packs of Hongtashan cigarettes and a few bottles of Wuliangye liquor in one breath. These goods were all supplied with tickets, but the Red Star Porcelain Factory itself was an enterprise in the light industry system, and the factory had many supply tickets.

  "Director Zhang, you're not saying these cigarettes are also for me, are you?" Lin Zhenhua asked timidly.

  "Of course it's for you."

  "But I...I've already quit smoking." Lin Zhenhua said, as a graduate student he indeed wouldn't smoke, but the retired soldier Lin Zhenhua from his past life would smoke, now he could only say that he had quit.

  "In today's society, cigarettes and liquor are inseparable from home life. You've just returned to the factory, if you don't give some cigarettes and liquor to your leaders and colleagues, how can that be?"

  "Director Zhang, spending so much money, I really don't dare to accept it." Lin Zhenhua said.

  Director Zhang waved his hand: "As Director You said, these things are all from the factory's gratitude to you, and they will be included in the entertainment expenses."

  "Otherwise, take this wine back and drink it yourself, Director..."

  "Kobayashi, do you want me to make a mistake?"

  "It's not mine, it was sent to me by the factory, and I'll send it to Director Zhang, how can that be wrong?"

  "Kobayashi, I understand your intention, but you still need to take these things away. You've just retired from the army and returned home, and all aspects of your relationships are being taken care of, so these things will come in handy." Director Zhang said with a heavy heart.

  After finishing shopping, it was already noon. Director Zhang took Lin Zhenhua back to the Jeep and instructed the driver: "Go to Dongfeng Porcelain Factory."

  "Director Zhang, aren't we going back to Hongxing Factory?"

  "Not going back, today at noon is Dongfeng Ceramics Factory's Wang Baozi treating us to a meal, both Director You and Director He are already waiting there." said Director Zhang.

  The Jeep drove into the Dongfeng Porcelain Factory and arrived at the small cafeteria. Lin Zhenhua saw that You Jianmin and He Haifeng were already waiting there, and standing with them were several other people who must be the leaders of the Dongfeng Porcelain Factory.

  "Xiaolin, come here, let me introduce you to this person. This is Wang Changzhang from Dongfeng Porcelain Factory." Yu Jianmin enthusiastically pulled Lin Zhenhua's hand and brought him in front of a big fat man. After introducing Lin Zhenhua, Yu Jianmin said to the fat man again: "Wang, this is the expert I told you about on the phone, Xiaolin, Lin Zhenhua, he is also a friend of He Changzhang."

  "He......" Wang Pangzi looked at Lin Zhenhua's childish face and was a bit skeptical, "So young?"

  "Kobayashi seems to be only 18 years old, young and promising," said Yu Jianmin.

  "Was it you who solved the technical problem for Old Yu and his team?" Wang Baozi asked Lin Zhenhua. The Red Star Ceramic Factory had encountered difficulties before, and they had also sought help from the East Wind Ceramic Factory, so Wang Baozi knew a thing or two about this matter. He heard that Lin Zhenhua had solved the problem with just one sentence, which left Wang Baozi quite shocked. However, now seeing how young Lin Zhenhua looked, Wang Baozi began to have some doubts again.

  Lin Zhenhua smiled faintly and said, "Director Wang, actually I'm not an expert either. I just made a few random remarks. The main problem is still for Director You to solve with Manager Wang and others."

  "Oh, I just made a few casual remarks." Wang Baozi nodded, "Being able to make a few casual remarks and solve the problem is not easy. Old You's export task this year was almost ruined, but your few words just saved Old You's life."

  "Wang Baozi, are you going to treat us to dinner or not?" Yu Jianmin said discontentedly. "If you're too stingy with wine, I'll take Xiao Lin and He Chuzhang back to the Red Star Porcelain Factory."

  "Here, here." Wang Baozi said, "The dishes are all ready, please take your seats, everyone."

  Lin Zhenhua didn't know why You Jianmin wanted to invite him to dinner at Dongfeng Porcelain Factory, but he was too lazy to ask more questions. Anyway, it was up to You Jianmin to repay the favor. Everyone entered the small cafeteria and, as usual, there was a table of fine wine and dishes. At the dinner table, You Jianmin and He Haifeng kept urging Lin Zhenhua to drink, while Wang Baozi just had a plain and dull expression, seemingly not taking Lin Zhenhua seriously.

  "Wang Baozi, what do you mean?" After three rounds of drinks, You Jianmin tapped the head of his chopsticks against Wang Baozi's wine cup and said discontentedly, "You asked me to invite Little Lin over, now why aren't you saying a word?"

  Wang Baozi smiled awkwardly and said, "This... I did have some things to trouble Lin expert at first, but later, I thought it was better not to, Lin expert is also quite tired."

  He Haifeng detected Wang Wuzi's insincerity and knew that he originally wanted to ask Lin Zhenhua some technical questions, but seeing Lin Zhenhua was too young, he had a slight disdain. As for what Lin Zhenhua was capable of, He Haifeng wasn't sure either. However, since they had already eaten the food and drinks, not letting Wang Wuzi speak up wouldn't be quite right.

  "Director Wang, if you have any questions, just speak up and let everyone hear. Xiao Lin is relatively young and has no experience in ceramics, so he may not be able to solve any problems. But Old You is an old ceramic worker after all, and I've learned a thing or two from him. Who knows, three cobblers may be able to help you come up with some ideas." He Haifeng said artfully.

  Wang Baozi also felt that it was somewhat inappropriate for him to remain silent, although he looked down on Lin Zhenhua, but it wouldn't be good to show this disdain on his face. He put down his wine cup and smiled: "This is just a small matter, I'm sure Expert Lin won't be interested in it either. However, this technical problem has been troubling us for a long time."

  "Still about that insulated porcelain bottle of yours?" Yu Jianmin asked, everyone in the same circle knew each other's business, "Why don't you ask Xiao Lin, maybe he can give you some advice."

  "It's like this..." Wang said, turning his head to Lin Zhenhua, "Our factory has a product that is an insulating porcelain bottle for use in substations. However, after the product was delivered to the users, they reflected that some of the porcelain bottles had poor insulation properties and would leak electricity under high voltage conditions. Because of this, our products could only be sold as secondary goods at a reduced price. We've investigated many reasons but still can't solve this problem."

  "Is the porcelain bottle leaking electricity?" Lin Zhenhua pondered, this question still had some difficulty to it, he recalled the literature he had read and thought about which link the problem might be in.

  "Xiaolin, let's eat first." He Haifeng mediated, actually he also knew about the Dongfeng Factory incident. Several experts from the Provincial Institute of Industry had gone to take a look but couldn't solve it either. He didn't think Lin Zhenhua could solve this problem, so after everyone finished eating, he planned to find an excuse to pull Lin away and that would be the end of it.

  "Director Wang, can you tell me about our production process? What is the structure of our kiln?" Lin Zhenhua said.

  Sitting next to Wang Baozi was the technical director of Dongfeng Factory. Wang Baozi gave him a wink, and the technical director walked over to Lin Zhenhua's side, took out paper and pen, and drew a diagram of a kiln for Lin Zhenhua.

  "Is this open?" Lin Zhenhua pointed to a place on the intention map.

  "Yes, it's open."

  "I think it's better to seal this place off," said Lin Zhenhua. "The entire kiln should be fully sealed, and then some nitrogen gas should be pumped in before firing."

  "Why?" The head of the technical department was stunned, "Our stoves have always been open-mouthed."

  Lin Zhenhua said, "I don't dare to be certain about this either, but from the process you just described, these ceramic bottles shouldn't conduct electricity. The only possibility is that oxygen ions were mixed in during the firing process. Oxygen ions are conductive, you should know that? I had you seal the kiln and fill it with nitrogen to drive out the oxygen precisely to avoid the influence of oxygen ions."

  "Director Chen, does what Lin Zhuanjia said make sense?" Wang Baozi asked the technical director. What Lin Zhenhua said was a bit obscure, and Wang Baozi couldn't understand it, but the technical director was a university student in the 1960s, so he should be able to understand it.

  The head of the technical department's mouth was wide open, enough to hold a steamed bun, and after a long while, he said something similar to what Wang Kezhang from Hongxing Factory had said: "I'm such an old fool, how could I not have thought of this!"

  He Haifeng smiled slightly to the side, regardless of whether Lin Zhenhua had solved the problem or not. At least this conversation was professional enough. With these few words, Wang Baozi's meal today was worth it. He Haifeng became somewhat interested in Lin Zhenhua. How could a retired soldier with only a primary school diploma understand so many things?

  Wang Pangzi heard the evaluation of the technical department head, and his impression of Lin Zhenhua changed instantly. He toasted Lin Zhenhua with several cups of wine in a row, then warmly invited Lin Zhenhua to go to the workshop to guide work in the afternoon.

  After arriving at the workshop, everyone began to believe that Lin Zhenhua had never worked in the ceramics industry before, because he was not familiar with the kilns and other equipment in the workshop. However, when the kiln he modified finally produced a batch of ceramic bottles with excellent insulation performance, everyone was amazed. Wang Baozi changed his previous indifferent attitude and patted Lin Zhenhua's shoulder dozens of times with his thick and fleshy paws. Lin Zhenhua thought to himself that if it were his weak self from the past, he would have been slapped into a broken arm by now.

  "Kobayashi, you're unbelievable. You were a veteran who almost couldn't even get his junior high school graduation certificate." He Haifeng said to Lin Zhenhua, "With your level of ability, I'm afraid it would be hard to find a few people like you in the Hunan Ping Province Light Industry Hall system."

  "It was nothing, I just stumbled upon a dead mouse with my eyes closed."

  "The dead mouse is indeed a dead mouse, but with so many cats around, none of us caught it. You came and caught it right away. If you're a blind cat, then wouldn't we engineers be the dead cats?" He Haifeng said with a chuckle.

  "Maybe it's just luck."

  "Where did you learn all this knowledge?" He Haifeng asked further.

  Lin Zhenhua had long been psychologically prepared for this question. He knew that the level of knowledge he would soon be displaying would inevitably raise suspicions, and so he had already prepared a set of excuses.

  "This, I learned from a demoted old professor," Lin Zhenhua said. "In the outskirts of our troop's garrison, there lived an old rightist who was said to have been a professor at Huazhong University. During my service, I often used my spare time to take care of him, so he taught me some cultural knowledge."

  "What's his name?" asked He Haifeng.

  "He's called Xia Hanmin, but of course this name might also be fake." Lin Zhenhua said, "He became a rightist, and probably wouldn't use his original name anymore."

  "What about him now?"

  "He's already passed away." Lin Zhenhua put on a sorrowful face, but in his heart he was secretly pleased. An old professor who used a pseudonym and had already been buried, no one could find any flaws now. In the days without the internet, it was impossible to do human flesh search anyway.

  "What a pity." He Haifeng sighed, "These are all precious talents. Look, he only taught you for two years, and it was during your spare time, yet you're so outstanding. It's imaginable how wise he himself is."

  "It's all because of those few people..."

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