Choice C is the best answer. In the fifth paragraph, the narrator's father demonstrates the quality of an inkstick to a customer. He strikes the inkstick, and the narrator describes "a sound as clean and pure as a small silver bell." Therefore, the word "clean," as used in this paragraph to describe a sound that the inkstick produced, most nearly means distinct, or clear.
Choices A, B, and D are incorrect because in the context of the passage, "clean" means distinct, not complete (choice A), skillful (choice B), or upright (choice D).