I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 112 When I was young, I dreamed of changing the world.

Avdodya Yakovlevna Panaeva has recently been busy with matters concerning a friend of hers. To be honest, it's not an easy task, but because it's a good deed and the person she's helping is Mikhail, Panaeva is happy to do it.

In short, the task involved finding one or two helpers for Mikhail to manage his daily life. This is quite normal for people with some assets these days, especially since Mikhail owns the largest share of the magazine "Modern Man." If the magazine continues to grow at its current pace, Mikhail will become incredibly wealthy sooner or later.

Moreover, based on Panaeva's observation of this young man who already enjoyed a high reputation at such a young age, the sudden wealth did not seem to have made him dizzy; on the contrary, he was living a life that was not much different from before.

He is diligent in reading and asking questions, and has a great love for food. His few vices are playing small-scale gambling games. Gambling is considered a vice because it often leads to financial ruin, but for Mikhail, he only plays small-scale gambling games simply because he doesn't want to ruin others.

For many Russian men today, vices such as alcoholism, prostitution, and gambling are commonplace, and for those with assets and some in the literary world, these vices are even more prevalent.

It is truly astonishing that Mikhail could remain the same under such circumstances. Panaeva once couldn't help but ask the young man, "Dear Mikhail, how can you always be so self-disciplined and extraordinary? Although you do not believe in religion, the virtues you have shown are something that many fanatics may not possess."

"If a person can only rely on faith and God, and does not rely on himself at all, it is very difficult for him to really accomplish anything. The same applies to other things."

The young man replied, seemingly jokingly, "And I often worry about one thing: I'm afraid I'm not worthy of the expectations others have for me and the honors they've given me. In order not to disappoint them after they get to know me, I'm willing to restrain myself more."

His self-discipline may seem lenient, but in this day and age it is extremely strict. However, the results are remarkable. It is hard for any young person who learns about his character and conduct not to be moved by him and even to some extent emulate him.

Perhaps this is the role model effect of a literary idol.

Returning to the matter at hand, finding a servant is actually quite easy. After all, many people in their circle have noble status and their own serfs. They can send their serfs to work for Mikhail's family and generously offer not to charge Mikhail any substitute service fees.

But Mikhail's request was somewhat 'strange,' meaning he didn't require anyone to be particularly capable, but rather hoped to help some people escape their difficult circumstances.

This is not hard to understand. Mikhail has created many such characters. When Mikhail was still poor, all one could do was sympathize. But now that his conditions have improved, he has started to think about doing something.

However, according to the law, Mikhail's status did not allow him to participate in the slave trade, so he had to ask his friends for help.

Some people praised this behavior, but when some people who like to talk big talked about it, they felt that the young man had only recently escaped his predicament and was already thinking about doing good deeds. Others shrugged indifferently, thinking that what was the point of doing such a small thing? Compared to the huge reality, it was not even worth mentioning. They thought it would be better to find some decent servants to make themselves more comfortable.

The young man seemed too lazy to argue with some of these voices. Instead, in a relatively public setting, he told a very moving story to many people, which was more like a proverb than a story:

An old man once said on his deathbed: "When I was young, I dreamed of changing the world. When I matured, I realized I couldn't change the world, so I narrowed my focus and decided to change my country. Now that I'm old, I realize I can't change our country either. My last wish is simply to change my family, but even that's impossible."

As I lie on my deathbed now, it suddenly dawns on me: if I had only tried to change myself first, I might have changed my family; with their help and encouragement, I might have done something for my country. And then, who knows? I might even have changed the world.

These few words contained so much to ponder that many people discussed them at the time, and when a well-known newspaper spread the word, even more people learned about them.

It might have no effect on some people, but it might really move some people and even get them to start doing something. Who knows?

This is perhaps the power of literature and thought. It may not seem like a big threat, but with the fermentation of time and the progress of society, it will eventually burst forth with unimaginable power, just like the French Revolution. If it weren't for such a clear example, Russia might not have such a strict censorship system today.

Regardless, Mikhail continued with his own methods, and Panayeva was happy to do so. After gathering information for a while and spending a considerable sum of money, she managed to buy a few serfs from some cruel landlords.

Buying serfs from these people was not easy. Some of them were willing to squeeze every last bit of value out of people before letting them go. It was precisely these kinds of landlords who could easily cause serf uprisings, and one day they might even beat them to death.

But when problems actually erupt, these people are often indifferent.

But after doing this, the question of how to settle these people arose. Things often go like this, one problem leads to another. Fortunately, Mikhail had made some preparations, such as helping to find some jobs.

In present-day St. Petersburg, with the development of capitalism, labor is relatively scarce. However, the large aristocratic class and landowners still keep many serfs firmly tied to the land. For the sake of domestic stability, the Tsar is naturally unwilling to change the status quo easily.

Only when the problems come to light are these people willing to take action.

After this arrangement, almost everyone had a place to stay. As for the extremely rare and good job of working as a maid in Mikhail's house, after weighing the options, it was naturally given to the child who was all alone and had the most difficulty surviving.

“My dear Mira, let’s go.”

Just recently, after finally settling everything, Panayeva, leading a young child, prepared to head to Mikhail's house. The cook, who had already gone to Mikhail's place, was, in terms of personality, similar to Nastasya, the old maid from Mikhail's former apartment, only much more discreet. This was quite important, as as time went on, especially in 1848, Mikhail would likely be under surveillance by the secret police.

Even setting aside his other affairs, running a progressive publication was a rather dangerous business. In the original history, Nekrasov and Panayev did practically nothing but run a magazine, yet Nekrasov was still monitored by the secret police.

By 1848, the head of the secret service, Dubert, even issued a document ordering them to meet with Count Orlov, the head of the gendarmerie. Fortunately, it was only a warning, but if they continued to do so, they would most likely suffer the consequences.

Putting all that aside, with this cook around, Panaeva wasn't so worried about the little girl she was going to take with her being left unattended.

Whether by coincidence or because Mikhail's novels depict the most common people in Russia, the little girl's situation is almost exactly the same as his story "Sleepy."

At thirteen, both her parents had passed away. She had to do many things every day, and the slightest mistake would result in severe punishment. So much so that when Panaeva looked at her now, her body couldn't help but tremble, as if she was afraid of something that might happen.

"For the next period of time, you may have to do some tidying up the room and assisting the cook with cooking, but that shouldn't be much. According to Nekrasov, Mikhail almost never makes a mess of the room except for sometimes leaving his clothes lying around, so you won't have much work to do."

Moreover, the food at Mikhail's house is quite good; he's not afraid to spend money on it. You'll eat very well there, and you might even gain weight after a while.”

As she spoke, Panaeva glanced at the little girl again. Her face and body were so thin they were almost unsightly, and her timid expression and gray eyes betrayed her fear and worry about what was about to happen.

For her, the environment changed so fast that her somewhat confused mind was completely muddled, and she had no idea whether what was going to happen next would be good or bad.

Panaeva didn't have a good solution, but she tried her best to explain what she was going to do next and reassure her that things were much better than she had imagined.

After talking for a while, the young girl finally seemed to relax a little. Thinking about how she had been treated at Panaeva's house these past few days, she finally pursed her lips and assured Panaeva, "I will work hard."

Aside from those words, she had no other words to say, because she found it difficult to understand the reasons and consequences of her changed circumstances, but thankfully, life was no longer going to become any more unbearable for her.

When she worked for that family before, she felt like she was going to faint almost every day, but for some reason, she just kept going.

Having had that experience, she was able to endure any work that was extremely demanding, as long as it was even slightly easier.

After walking for a long time in this somewhat silent atmosphere, the little girl finally sensed that the kind noble lady had stopped in front of a very nice house, so she quickly stopped as well, lowered her head, and waited for the unknown event to happen.

Because she had her head down, she didn't see the face of her next employer, but she heard a rather gentle yet powerful voice:
"I really appreciate you making this trip. I understand everything you asked. Her accommodation has been prepared. If she has any other questions, she can tell me. As for the pay, it's a little less than what a cook would receive, but it should be enough for her to gradually save up some money."

Is there any compensation?

The little girl raised her head slightly and saw a person's shoes and legs. For some reason, based on what she had heard from others and her own observations, the little girl felt that the owner of those legs must be able to run very fast.

Before she could even process this thought, she was led inside and sat down. As soon as she was pulled into a chair, she jerked up as if she had been branded with a hot iron, and quickly stood to the side.

"Sit down."

The same voice rang out again. Although it didn't sound reprimanding, the young girl still stood aside. After waiting for a while, seeing that the other person didn't continue speaking, she finally mustered up her courage and raised her head. When she saw the kind smile on that handsome face, she was stunned for a moment, then slowly said, "Master."

Before she could finish speaking, the other person slowly interrupted her, then smiled and said, "Please call me Mr. Mikhail. That's what the cook calls me too, and that's what everyone I know calls me. Although I am your employer, you have done your work, so I am paying you. That's all there is to it."

"but."

Although she wanted to say something more, seeing the other person's persistent expression, the somewhat bewildered young girl lowered her head. However, the other person didn't seem to mind, and simply said to the noblewoman, "You still need to work for a while to get used to it."

Listening to their conversation, the young girl, though not understanding what they were talking about, vaguely sensed that her life might be about to undergo a positive change.

As she pondered these things with some uncertainty, Mikhail felt a slight headache. He really couldn't figure out how to deal with child labor. Fortunately, the work wasn't heavy, and there was a cook who would teach her other things; otherwise, Mikhail would have felt quite guilty.
Anyway, let's leave it at that for now. In this era, let's at least get something done.

(End of this chapter)