Returning to 1949, I decided to hand it over to the state.

He twisted the pen cap off, then slumped onto the small wooden table, chin resting on his arm, his voice trembling:

"Engineer Jiang, I'm truly impressed... How do you know so much about chemical engineering? What's wrong with your brain?"

Jiang Fan stood by the blackboard, a layer of sweat beading on his forehead.

He looked at Zhou Chunsheng, who was slumped over the table, and his expression became somewhat complicated.

"Engineer Zhou, I know I pushed you a bit too hard today, but I have to tell you the truth."

"This task was personally assigned to us by the commander. No matter what happens, I must hand over everything I know to you."

"If one day I leave Ansteel, you must keep this business running! I'll be there for you, and success doesn't have to be mine. Engineer Zhou, I believe in you!"

Zhou Chunsheng was already confused by Jiang Fan, and now, hearing these words, he was even more bewildered.

He slowly raised his head, staring intently into Jiang Fan's eyes, his brows furrowed.

"No... Engineer Jiang, something sounds off about what you're saying. It's like you're leaving a will. What's wrong with you?"

Jiang Fan simply shook his head; he couldn't possibly reveal the truth about his time travel, appearing relaxed and at ease.

"It's nothing serious. I was just planning to go back to Shenyang in the next couple of days. I was worried about running out of time on the road, and if I didn't explain the technology to you clearly before I left, what if something went wrong? Wouldn't that delay the factory's important business?"

After listening, Zhou Chunsheng rolled his eyes in annoyance:

"You scared me half to death! If you're going back to your hometown to visit relatives, just say so. Why make it sound like a life-or-death situation?"

"Alright, alright, go ahead and do it. But don't forget, you have to ask for leave from Director He before you leave, otherwise it will be considered absenteeism."

Jiang Fan silently hummed in agreement, then glanced down at the holographic watch face on his wrist.

The numbers keep ticking relentlessly.

【02:45:12】

There are less than three hours left.

Jiang Fan looked up and asked one last time, "Engineer Zhou, how much of this process have you memorized by now?"

Zhou Chunsheng flipped through the notebook in his hand, scratched his head, and looked a little embarrassed:

"I've only scratched the surface of the basic principles; I haven't fully grasped them. But I think I have about 70-80% of the knowledge on paper. I'll find a few experienced workers at the coking plant who know a bit about chemistry to work on it together. There shouldn't be any major problems."

Upon hearing the phrase "70-80%", Jiang Fan's heart, which had been hanging in mid-air, finally settled down considerably.

He nodded: "Then I'll leave everything to you. I'll go downstairs to get a report and approval from the factory manager, and then I'll go to my relative's house to say hello. You can stay here and study it on your own for a while."

"Done!" Zhou Chunsheng waved his hand while leaning on the table and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Go ahead, go ahead, I'll just lie down here and rest for a bit, my head is about to explode."

"I'm gone."

Jiang Fan took one last deep look at Zhou Chunsheng, then turned and left the classroom, quickly descending the stairs to the second floor.

He Xiying was still looking at documents in her office when Jiang Fan knocked on the door and went in.

"Director He, I'd like to ask you about something."

He Xiying looked up and put down her pen: "What's wrong, Xiao Jiang? Tell me."

"I would like to take two days off to go back to Shenyang. I came directly to Ansteel after returning to China and haven't had a chance to go home to visit my family. I miss my family very much."

He Xiying listened without arousing any suspicion and readily nodded:

"It's only natural for you to do this, it's a serious matter, and it's only right that you go and take a look. I'll issue you the approval slip right away."

While writing a leave note, He Xiying instructed:

"Go early and come back early. The projects at the factory could start at any time, and they're waiting for you, the initiator, to come back and oversee them."

"Understood, thank you, factory manager!"

Jiang Fan accepted the leave slip, gave a rare, albeit imperfect, but extremely proper salute, and strode out of the office.

The reason he insisted on asking the factory manager for leave was that he secretly hoped for the best, as a backup plan.

If I can be transported back to this era in the future, then I will just be returning home late from visiting relatives, instead of disappearing from the face of the earth.

Stepping out of the small white building, Jiang Fan leisurely crossed the main road of the factory area.

The distant chimneys still spewed black smoke, and the train whistles inside the factory still sounded loudly.

He walked step by step along the dirt road he had come from.

That direction was where he first arrived in this era, and also where that young "grandmother" lived.

There are only three hours left.

Let us return to where we came from.

At the end of the dirt road, the familiar mud-brick house reappeared in view.

Everything was exactly the same as when he first arrived here three days ago.

That day, he was a bewildered intruder, but today, he is a departing farewell.

Jiang Fan stood outside the slightly crooked wooden gate, quietly observing the room.

After standing for a moment, he cleared his throat and called out into the courtyard:

"Aunt Su, are you home?"

After calling out several times, a response finally came from the small side room next to the main house.

Aunt Su, wearing a cloth apron and with her hands covered in flour, lifted the curtain and came out.

Upon seeing Jiang Fan standing outside the door, a smile immediately bloomed on her face.

"Hey, Tiger's here! Come in, come in!"

She walked quickly to the gate, patting the flour off her hands onto her apron as she unlatched the latch and pushed open the wooden door.

"Better late than early! I'm rolling out noodles right now. Your Uncle Jiang will be back after work soon, just in time for dinner!"

Jiang Fan looked at the young woman in front of him with a complicated expression.

Now he's too afraid to look people in the eye.

Calling her "Aunt Su" when we don't meet doesn't feel like a big deal, but it's a bit awkward when we're face to face.

But you can't exactly call someone "great-grandmother" to their face, can you?

Jiang Fan forced a smile, suppressing his emotions.

"Aunt Su, I won't be eating at home. I just happened to be passing by and came here specifically to tell you that I'm planning to go back to Shenyang to visit my father."

Aunt Su was taken aback at first, then smiled in agreement:

"That's great! It's the right thing to go back and see your dad. You've been busy outside for so long. As his son, he'll be so happy to see you."

As she was talking, she suddenly sniffed and slapped her thigh hard:

"Oh dear, my pot! Tiger, why don't you go inside and sit and play for a while? I still have some stew simmering in my pot."

After saying that, she turned around in a hurry and rushed back to the kitchen.

As Jiang Fan watched her figure disappear behind the curtain, a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

He stepped into the courtyard, his eyes scanning the surroundings.

He came to find something to verify his hypothesis.