I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 113 My University
Mikhail is still unsure how to deal with the two new family members. Although he has considered teaching them to read and write, he thinks he should spend some time with them and observe their personalities and interests.

Furthermore, human nature is indeed very complex at times. For example, Panaeva's family had a servant boy of about sixteen years old, an orphan who had lost both his parents and whom Panaeva had adopted when he was young. Although Panaeva put a lot of effort into him, teaching him to read and write and taking care of him when he was sick.

But this servant boy had incurably turned into a young master. Sometimes he would delay meals simply because he insisted on having his hair neatly curled before showing himself at the table; he would scold the laundry maid if she didn't starch his shirt properly; and he refused to wash the cutlery, believing it would make his hands rough and unsightly. So much so that a gentleman visiting the Panayevs' house gave him the nickname "Baron."

Later, when the situation became more dire, someone threatened him, ordering him to report on everything that happened at the Panayev household every day, and out of fear, he did just that.

In short, since Mikhail's actions in this era were not politically correct, it was necessary to be cautious. In an era where one could be arrested or even exiled based on mere suspicion, once a heavy blow was dealt, everyone would be on edge, fearing that they might be implicated and end up in prison themselves.

After all, in that godforsaken place called Siberia, death is the norm; those who survive are either those with short service periods or those who are exceptionally healthy and lucky.

The same is true in the literary world; truly unyielding individuals are few and far between. Take, for example, a man named Botkin in Mikhail's circle. He had a fairly good relationship with Belinsky and Panayev, but after Dostoevsky's case came to light, he suddenly assumed Dostoevsky would implicate him, thinking that Dostoevsky might find a note Botkin had written to him a year or two earlier in Dostoevsky's files. So, through gritted teeth, he said:

“It is insidious and despicable not to destroy notes written by acquaintances. You can take as much risk as you want, but never involve others in your case.”

At the same time, he was also afraid to stay in Moscow because, on one occasion, when a group of young people gathered at someone's house, he happened to welcome the Paris Revolution of 1848, thus becoming a democrat in the eyes of others.

“I’m really afraid of these kids now,” he said. “If they get caught, they’ll get you in trouble!”

Meanwhile, as the situation continued to change, Belinsky's friend, Longjinov, a literary historian and bibliographer, who was once a nice guy, a lazybones, and often made witty remarks to mock the censors, later became an extreme reactionary, ruthlessly suppressing the publishing industry and repeatedly ordering the burning of Radishchev's and others' works.

As the times surge forward, some choose never to yield or retreat, while others always choose to back down or even become accomplices.

Fortunately, Mikhail had a general understanding of people's character and knew what to say and what not to say.

As for the new cook and maid in Mikhail's house, the cook's cooking was quite good, and she would also prepare some dishes that were very uncommon in Russia according to Mikhail's requests. As for the young girl who served as the maid, after two days of nervous waiting, she found that nothing really happened. Nothing bad happened, and even the work she had to do was quite easy. She didn't even feel breathless after finishing the work.

After discovering this, she felt somewhat relieved. However, even though she didn't have much work, she still worked diligently every day and kept looking for other things to do, so much so that she kept the tables and chairs in Mikhail's house shiny.

However, on this ordinary day, a task assigned by Mikhail proved to be a challenge for the young girl.

To put it simply, last night, Mr. Mikhail was sighing and muttering to himself, saying things like, "I've been ruined by sleep, and I'm so lazy. Starting tomorrow, I'll get up early and work!"

After muttering to himself, he approached Mira and instructed her, "You must wake me up as early as possible tomorrow. Wake me whenever you're awake. I'm planning to get up early and get to work. If I don't answer when you knock, just come in and wake me up."

Although Mikhail said that, when the little girl woke up this morning and knocked on the door for a long time without receiving a response, she hesitated whether to go in and wake Mikhail.

After hesitating outside the door for a long time, she finally made up her mind, pushed the door open and walked in. As soon as she entered, she saw Mikhail sleeping soundly and lying peacefully on the bed. Even though she was no longer afraid of this man, her heart still trembled when she actually saw him.

The little girl hurried to Mikhail's bedside and raised her voice, "Mr. Mikhail, Mr. Mikhail, it's time to get up and work!"

"Huh? Work? What kind of work?"

At this distance, even if Mikhail was sound asleep, he couldn't possibly not notice. But for some reason, despite not going to bed early last night, he felt unusually sleepy when he opened his eyes today, and he could barely keep them open.

Still half-asleep, Mikhail managed to ask, "What time is it?"

"Mr. Mikhail, four o'clock in the morning."

Mikhail: “???”

I'm not Belinsky!

"Why don't you sleep a little longer? There's nothing to clean at home. Go tell the cook Maria that if you want breakfast, you can make some for yourselves. I don't need this."

Mikhail quickly calmed down after hearing the number four, but before going back to sleep, he forced himself to finish his sentence: "Wake me up at nine, no, eleven, when I'm still not up."

After saying this, seeing the little girl nod blankly to indicate that she understood and walk towards the door, Mikhail turned over, tucked his head into the blanket, and then fell asleep again.

The little girl who saw this scene before closing the door: "?"

Although the kind and amiable old man didn't seem to be sarcastic, and doing what he said would certainly prevent a beating, Mira was unwilling to go back to her bedroom to sleep. Instead, she diligently did the light housework and prepared to brew a pot of tea when Mikhail was about to get up.

Although Mikhail said he would call him at eleven o'clock, he was still someone who wanted to work. So at 10:30, Mikhail yawned and came out of his bedroom. He was greeted by an unbelievably bright living room. Mikhail had gradually become familiar with this scene over the past two days.

As soon as he came out, the little girl who had been doing something rushed over and asked if there was anything she could do for him. "No, you should find a place to rest."

Although Mikhail said that, after he finished washing up, the little girl still poured him a cup of tea and brought it to him early in the morning.

Despite feeling a pang of conscience, Mikhail could only sigh inwardly, reluctantly accept the cup of tea, and then prepare to get back to work.

Perhaps influenced by her past experiences, the little girl worked very hard. Maybe she will get better over time, or perhaps it would be more beneficial if Mikhail gave her some work such as learning to read and write or learning other skills.

As for what kind of experience it was, it can only be described as something that serfs often encountered.

Just like what Old Dostoevsky told Mikhail about seeing at a post station on his way to university: a messenger from the government, dressed in full uniform and wearing a white, yellow, and green peacock feathered tricorn hat fluttering in the wind, hurriedly stopped his carriage. This messenger was ruddy-faced and strong; he stopped his carriage, rushed to the post station, downed a glass of vodka, and then leaped back onto his troika.

Before long, he stood up and, for no apparent reason, punched his coachman, a young serf, in the back of the neck. The horse galloped away under the coachman's frantic whipping, the messenger's merciless fist mechanically waving up and down, the coachman's whip lashing in response, and the troika sped away in this rhythm.

Moreover, Dostoevsky speculated that the groom, upon returning to his village, would surely beat his wife to avenge himself. "This morbid scene," he said, "is something I will never forget."

This led him to hastily jot down these words in his 1876 notes on "Crime and Punishment": "The first humiliation I ever suffered was that horse, that messenger."

Perhaps it is because of this experience that he has such a strong radical tendency at this time, especially in his opposition to serfdom.

It is worth mentioning that in "Crime and Punishment," the protagonist dreams of a tragedy he witnessed as a child before committing the crime: a mare, overburdened and innocent, is beaten to death by her owner, and young Raskolnikov rushes through the crowd, embraces the dead horse's face, and kisses it, kissing its eyes and lips...

Later still, Nietzsche was diagnosed with a serious mental illness shortly after weeping while holding a whipped horse.

Putting aside this subtle connection for the moment, once Mikhail truly regained his senses, he did start working diligently. In addition to the articles he had promised others, Mikhail was indeed preparing to return to school to continue his studies.

The magazine's business is now on track, and there's not much for Mikhail to do. Plus, there's not much pressure from other things. After thinking about Belinsky's words, Mikhail submitted his application to continue his studies. So, he'll probably just have to pick a good day to go back to school and finish what he has left.

While Mikhail was starting work, elsewhere, Krajevsky, the owner of "Chronicle of the Fatherland," had already begun working. Recently, due to the emergence of "The Contemporary," they had undoubtedly been the most affected, as the sudden departure of several important figures had a significant impact on the magazine.

Fortunately, thanks to the reputation built up over the years, and the fact that there were quite a few writers and readers who opposed the literary tendencies of Belinsky and his ilk, the situation of "Chronicles of the Fatherland" stabilized to some extent.

Even so, the lost subscribers and sales were bleeding Krajewsky's heart, and figuring out how to destroy "The Contemporary" had become a topic he had been thinking about recently.

Poaching is his current tactic, but the fees offered by "Modern Man" are unusually high, and because of Mikhail's presence, more and more new writers actually prefer to submit their work to "Modern Man".

While poaching talent, Krajewsky also deeply understood one thing: he had to defeat Mikhail, who alone could support a large portion of the magazine's sales, not to mention the negative impact of his influence.

Therefore, Krajevsky had been closely monitoring Mikhail's movements, waiting for the right opportunity to bring him down.

Because the literary circle is not very large, many news items are not difficult to find out. In addition, there are indeed some people who like to gossip, so some news naturally spreads out.

Today, while Krajevsky was still troubled and worried about some things, one of his well-informed but embellished friends suddenly appeared in his office and excitedly said as soon as he entered, "Krajevsky, I've just heard something incredible! I think you'll be interested!"

"What's going on?"

Krajewsky was still worried about the magazine's future and wasn't particularly interested when he first heard this, only giving a casual reply.

However, what the other party said next made Krajevsky feel as if he were facing a formidable enemy, and he immediately listened very attentively:
"It's about Mikhail, the owner of 'Modern Man' magazine! I heard he's making a big move that will profoundly impact certain things!"

Oh? Has he written another brilliant article? Or has he come up with another despicable propaganda tactic?

Or perhaps he has finally lost control of his true nature and is about to launch a despicable and fierce attack on his former employer, "Chronicles of the Motherland"?
In a split second, a multitude of thoughts flashed through Krajevsky's mind. Before he could reach a conclusion, his friend finally revealed the whole story: "He's going back to university to continue his studies! To be an ordinary student, honestly learning the things we already know!"

Krajevsky: "???"

I racked my brains here and he just went back to school like that?

If I had known this would happen, I should have sponsored his return to school to continue his studies before he started his magazine!

(End of this chapter)