1956: A Pillar of the Nation Rises from Siheyuan

In 1956, the soul of modern-day top student Lin Mo awakens in the body of a frail boy. His parents died young, and he lives with his uncle's family in a Beijing courtyard house. Timid by nature, he is known around the compound as a “man of few words.” But when Lin Mo opens his eyes, his astonishing memory and knowledge far beyond his time transform the boy completely.

Lin Mo never gets involved in the petty squabbles of courtyard life, preferring to bury himself in his books. He skips grades in elementary school, tops his class in middle school, and becomes the top scorer on the college entrance exam, amazing all of Beijing with his results. At sixteen, he enters a top university with the highest score in the country. After completing both his undergraduate and master's degrees in four years, he is selected by the state for a publicly funded education abroad.

In a foreign land, Lin Mo keeps a low profile, moving between libraries and laboratories and eagerly absorbing the advanced science and technology of other countries. He commits countless precious facts and data firmly to memory.

When his studies are complete, Lin Mo resolutely boards a ship home. Armed with everything he has learned, he throws himself into the fields of research the country urgently needs to advance: solving bottlenecks in steelmaking, developing advanced agricultural machinery, overcoming critical shortcomings in medical equipment, and improving communications technology. Wherever he is needed, there he is.

The neighbors in the courtyard go from looking down on Lin Mo to admiring him, while his uncle's family, who once took him in with caution, eventually take pride in him. Through his wisdom and hard work, Lin Mo writes a stirring legend of patriotism, friendship, and solidarity in an era ablaze with passion. From an ordinary boy in a courtyard house, he grows into a pillar of the nation!