Siheyuan: Grassroots Counterattack

Li Tianyi took his younger sister and younger brother to People's Park by tram. Because it was summer vacation, there were a lot of children in the park. Li Tianyi found a shade under a tree and spread a piece of cloth. He sat under the shade and read a book while his younger brother and sister played around.

Li Tianyi looked at them from time to time to make sure they were always in his sight. When Xiaomei and the others were tired from playing, Li Tianyi asked them to sit down and drink some water and take a break. Then he looked at the time and found that it was almost noon, so he took them to a small restaurant for dinner.

If it was 1950, the public-private partnership had not yet begun, and there were still many private restaurants in the city, Li Tianyi and his friends took a long time to choose before deciding to eat at a Shandong restaurant.

Seeing the little sister eating with relish, Li Tianyi gently wiped her mouth, and the little sister would look up and smile at Li Tianyi. And the little brother is a foodie, he wants to eat his head into the bowl.

After lunch, Li Tianyi took them to the overpass again. The overpass was very lively at that time, with all kinds of jugglers, crosstalk performers, martial arts performances, and people selling candy figures. The younger sister and younger brother couldn't walk when they saw all this, so Li Tianyi had no choice but to buy one for each of them. The younger sister's candy figure was a cute dog, and the younger brother's candy figure was Sun Wukong.

The day passed quickly, and in the evening, Li Tianyi held his little sister, who was already asleep, in one hand, and held his little brother with the other hand. The little brother was also tired and about to fall asleep. On the tram, if Li Tianyi hadn't kept reminding the little brother not to sleep, he would have fallen asleep long ago.

Another reason was that they had eaten too many snacks on the overpass this afternoon and were no longer hungry. Li Tianyi looked at the courtyard house that was already in sight and quickly quickened his pace.

Yan Bugui was still standing at the gate of the courtyard, looking around. "Teacher Yan, you didn't go fishing today?"

"It's Tianyi. I had a fever this afternoon, so I didn't go out. Where did you take your sister-in-law? Your house was locked all day."

"Hey, didn't we go to the park to play, and then we went to the overpass, and then we fell asleep because we were tired, so now we are free, aren't we?"

"Much better. The fever has gone away. I'm sleeping at home now."

"What about Cheng? Why can't I see him?" Li Tianyi asked.

"He went to play with his cousin in the country."

"Teacher Yan, I'm going back first." As he said that, he pulled his younger brother who was about to fall asleep and walked into the front yard.

At this time, Li's mother Zhang Guifang was already cooking dinner. Li Tianyi entered the house, put his younger sister and brother on the bed, and then tiptoed into the main room.

"Mom, don't cook dinner for the three of us tonight. We ate a lot of snacks on the overpass this afternoon, and we're not hungry anymore."

"Well, why don't you come back earlier? You look so tired."

"We had so much fun. My younger sister and I had so much fun on the overpass that we didn't want to come back."

"Mom, I'm going back to my room to read." Li Tianyi said and walked back to his room.

Time passed and the summer vacation was soon half over. During this month, Li Tianyi's Russian level had improved significantly. He also took time to go to Xinhua Bookstore to find the clerk and inquire about the translation certificate.

The clerk told Li Tianyi, "This usually requires a recommendation from the school, or a recommendation from the Military Control Commission, and approval from the higher authorities before you can participate. You are not even in the first grade of junior high school yet, so why don't you take the exam next year?"

Li Tianyi thanked the clerk for his kindness and walked out of the bookstore. He unknowingly came to the gate of the district military control committee. The soldier on guard saw a child wandering near the gate for a long time, so he stepped forward and asked: "Little comrade, what can I do for you? I see you have been standing here for a long time."

"Hello, comrade. I want to consult you about something, but I don't know who to contact at the Military Control Commission." Li Tianyi told the truth.

"What do you want to ask?" The young soldier looked curiously at the child in front of him who was only about ten years old.

"It's like this. I heard from a clerk at Xinhua Bookstore that you need a recommendation from the Military Control Commission to take the translation certificate exam, but I don't know which comrade is in charge of this."

"Is your adult going to take the translation certificate exam? Why are you, a child, asking?"

"It's not my parents, it's me who wants to take the test." Li Tianyi explained hurriedly.

"Ah? You? How old are you?" The little soldier looked at Li Tianyi in surprise.

"My name is Li Tianyi. I live in the courtyard at No. 95 Tongluoguxiang. I am 11 years old."

"You can take the translation certificate exam at such a young age?"

"Of course. There were Boy Scouts during the war. I have taught myself Russian, so I want to take the Russian translation certificate exam."

"Okay, you're ambitious. I'll take you to see our captain. He must know where to take the exam." Then he led Li Tianyi into the Military Control Commission.

He stopped in front of an office door and made a report. Immediately, a strong voice came from inside.

The young soldier led Li Tianyi in, and then explained to the middle-aged man Li Tianyi's identity and what he was going to do. The middle-aged man looked at Li Tianyi curiously. This ten-year-old kid in front of him actually knew Russian, and he taught himself. Judging from his clothes, he didn't look like a child from a wealthy family in the old city.

After the young soldier finished speaking, the middle-aged man asked the young soldier to continue to stand guard, and he asked Li Tianyi to sit on the sofa, and then asked: "Young comrade, don't be nervous. You have already taught yourself Russian at such a young age? Who did you learn it from in the beginning?"

Li Tianyi immediately recounted his situation truthfully. He couldn't be careless at this time, as the enemy spies were rampant and the Military Control Commission was vigorously cracking down on them.

After listening to Li Tianyi's narration, the middle-aged man nodded and said that he understood. "I am the captain of the Military Control Commission. My last name is Bai. You can call me Captain Bai. I will investigate your case. If there is no problem with the investigation, I will report it to my superiors. If the superiors approve it, I will send someone to the courtyard to inform you."

Li Tianyi immediately stood up and bowed to Captain Bai, "Thank you, Captain Bai. I will wait for your news."

Captain Bai smiled and nodded, then Li Tianyi said goodbye to Captain Bai and went home.

After Li Tianyi left, Captain Bai called in a young soldier and asked him to investigate the situation of Li Tianyi and his family in detail. The young soldier took the order and went out.

Soon the Li family's information arrived at Captain Bai's desk. After reading the information, Captain Bai realized that Li Tianyi was actually a little genius. He was already going to junior high school at such a young age.

Three days later, Li Tianyi's information and application had been approved by his superiors, who agreed that Li Tianyi could take the exam. Captain Bai sent a young soldier to the yard to inform Li Tianyi that the exam would be held at QH School five days later, and then the admission ticket was handed to Li Tianyi.

Li Tianyi escorted the young soldier out of the courtyard, and Yan Bugui approached Li Tianyi and asked, "Tianyi, what is this soldier here for?"

"Oh, you scared me, Teacher Yan, why are you walking so silently?" Li Tianyi said while stroking his chest.

"It's me who scared Tianyi. What's the matter with this soldier coming to our yard?"

"Oh, nothing. You will know in a few days. Keep it secret for now." After saying that, Li Tianyi ran back to the house.