I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 131 Where did I come from? Is this still Russia?

Since Mikhail entered the literary world, there is no doubt that every work he has published has elements that are beyond the reach of our time, even his poem "I will take you back from all the earth and from all the heavens".

Simply put, this poem shows that women can express their love so passionately, and women's liberation has always been a very important issue in the present and future eras.

In this regard, the old France still took the lead. For example, Saint-Simon and Fourier, representatives of French utopian socialism, put forward important ideas such as "women's liberation, calling on women to participate in social labor, letting women take control of their own destiny, and forming an equal alliance with women."

Belinsky, his classmate Herzen, and other friends had already studied this part of the text back in 1830 when they were still at Moscow University, and were deeply attracted to it.

The French of this era were not only thoughtful, but in fact, since the French Revolution began, the number of women in France who participated in the revolutionary struggle was quite considerable.

Incidentally, to truly appreciate the meaning of this poem, one might use another Han Dynasty folk song as a supplement: "Oh Heaven! I wish to be with you forever, our love lasting without end. Unless the mountains crumble, the rivers run dry, winter thunder roars, summer snow falls, and heaven and earth unite, only then will I part from you!"

To some extent, their underlying emotions are shared, and the methods they use are also somewhat similar.

If we set aside all that and only talk about the poem itself, it is undoubtedly filled with the pursuit of freedom, passion and sincere emotions. It is easy to recite and emotionally stirring. Even though its perspective is somewhat unusual in Russia today, after the young noblemen from the general's family pondered it for a while, they quickly realized that this poem would undoubtedly become popular in St. Petersburg's high society for a while.

Even if this poem receives mixed reviews, it doesn't stop it from becoming a sensation in high society!
In particular, it is highly likely to be welcomed by many noble ladies and young women, so the rumors about Mikhail and these ladies will probably only increase.
Most importantly, this poem was written by Mikhail himself in front of a group of strangers!
Since the previous rumors came from Mikhail's friends, it's natural to suspect that they exaggerated the matter or even wanted to use it to promote Mikhail. This speculation had been around for a while, and many poets privately scoffed, "Vanity! They can actually come up with such nonsense."

But what about this time?
What's more, this poem is quite unusual. If Boris hadn't brought up the topic, it seems no one would have thought of writing a poem on this subject.

In short, I simply dare not think about it; the more I think about it, the less interesting it seems to be about writing poetry.

After listening, the young nobles were in a similar state. Fortunately, Mikhail saw their condition and immediately gave them a pep talk. By the end, the young men seemed to have regained their confidence, but their attitude towards Mikhail had changed considerably.

Just like the other three noble youths who originally seemed to be somewhat hostile towards Mikhail, after this incident, they immediately expressed that the misunderstanding was cleared up, and from then on, in our hearts, in addition to Pushkin, there was another sun.

Mikhail, wanting to make a joke, asked, "Where is His Majesty the Tsar?"

However, considering that playing this joke might get him captured on the spot by the general, Mikhail ultimately gave up the idea.

Otherwise, Mikhail might accidentally unleash a meme: "I'm never playing abstract games again. First, nobody understands my humor, and second, some people genuinely see me as a traitor."

After the talk, seeing that Nadya didn't seem to have any intention of coming out again, Mikhail chatted with the general for a while longer before heading home.

Then, over the next few days, Mikhail prepared to go into seclusion for two days. After all, despite his efforts to explain to those noble youths, rumors were likely to spread like wildfire again.

The reasons for such rumors are actually multifaceted. Sometimes it may simply be the admiration of fans who, in their excitement, can't help but exaggerate the facts. Other times, it may be unscrupulous tabloids that fabricate various anecdotes and gossip to attract readers.

After all, readers in St. Petersburg are still very interested in the authors of their favorite works, which naturally leads to a lot of dubious information.

Furthermore, some people may be maliciously trying to flatter Mikhail to the point of self-destruction. After all, the higher you are praised, the harder it will hurt when you fall, and it will severely damage Mikhail's credibility and image in the public eye.

The previous rumors contained similar elements.

However, what those who praised him to the point of destruction probably didn't expect was that Mikhail was indeed a man who could turn praise into reality.
In short, Mikhail really didn't like hearing such rumors, so he simply took advantage of the school break to stay home for two days. Of course, while staying home, Mikhail also had things to do. The first was to continue teaching the little maid in the house to read and write. Although the process was a bit difficult, he slowly saw some results. At present, the little girl seems to be ready to read the novels published by Mikhail.

Although Mikhail felt that the novels might awaken some unpleasant memories for the young girl, seeing how seriously she took the matter, Mikhail could only nod in agreement.

Meanwhile, Mikhail also received a letter from the small landowner Tusenbach. Although Mikhail's life was moving forward, he still kept in touch with his friends from his old apartment and would often go back to have tea and read his new novel.

As his life moved forward, his friends naturally did not stand still either. According to his landlady Pavlovna, her previous statement about sealing off Mikhail's house and charging admission was just an angry outburst, and she did not actually intend to do it.

But as Mikhail's fame spread beyond her comprehension, and one ordinary day a young man actually offered to pay a few kopeks to visit the place where Mikhail had once lived, the dormant capitalist beast within Pavlovna truly awakened.
However, it must be said that if this tiny room in the apartment had remained in Pavlovna's hands, it might have been able to support the great-great-great-grandchildren of Pavlovna's grandchildren.

As for the small landowner Tusenbach, the old man had returned to his hometown and his territory. Perhaps it was the novel by Mikhail and the things that Mikhail had discussed with him that had an effect. In any case, the small landowner had decided to treat his serfs well.

However, some troublesome things did happen during this process, such as the dissatisfaction of other landlords and the doubts and wariness of the serfs, but these things did not seem to shake the old man's determination.

Strictly speaking, compared to other landlords of his time, his attitude towards serfs was already quite good, and now he had taken it a step further. Besides sharing various experiences he encountered during this process, he also asked Mikhail to send him some magazines and inquired about Mikhail's views on the land system. He seemed to want to make some changes but lacked specific direction, so he sought Mikhail's advice.

Mikhail: “?”

Small-scale land reform?
It's somewhat interesting, but also quite criminal.
Fortunately, Mikhail is not yet the kind of rebel whose letters are strictly monitored, so he did mention this matter briefly in his reply.

Tusenbacher's letter was a pleasant surprise for Mikhail, partly because it was a friendly exchange, and partly because it allowed him to learn about the rural conditions in Russian society.

As for Tusenbacher's question about land, Mikhail's answer was quite cautious. Firstly, he didn't really know much about this subject, and secondly, if he went too far with this kind of thing, the elderly Tusenbacher would probably face some trouble. Therefore, he could only give some relatively safe advice for the time being.

While dealing with these matters, Mikhail's friends also arrived with all sorts of rumors, making Mikhail's mouth twitch. Fortunately, apart from these rumors, Belinsky was quite interested in what was expressed in Mikhail's poem and thought it was worth writing a commentary on.

Incidentally, after this year, Belinsky will be going abroad for recuperation. Before that, Belinsky was writing articles like crazy, fearing that after he left, "The Modern Man" would have no suitable manuscripts to use.

Of course, at the same time, Belinsky was also preparing to write a substantial commentary, as he said:
“Mikhail, it’s time to summarize our literary achievements over the past year! Thanks to your existence, and also because of your work, the direction of literary creation that we previously advocated has entered a new stage. So it’s time to vindicate the work of our generation of writers!”

While working tirelessly on his writing, Belinsky also reminded Mikhail of something else: "By the way, Mikhail, there's one more thing. It's almost the end of the year, just a few days from now. According to some custom, the owners of various magazines in St. Petersburg will meet briefly at a banquet. They might talk about potential collaborations or public cultural endeavors, or they might just be exchanging barbs and sarcastic remarks."

In short, there really is such a thing. Please remember to come. If you don't, people will think that our *Modern People* magazine looks down on other magazines, which will negatively impact our reputation.

Having said all that, even if Mikhail, the boss, is usually quite hands-off, he'll definitely have to show his face this time.

Incidentally, in terms of shareholding, Mikhail is indeed the largest owner of the "Modern Man" magazine, as he owns a full half of the shares, while the remaining portion is split equally between Nekrasov and Panaev.

The reason why it accounted for such a large proportion was naturally because, in addition to the profits from the "Petersburg Anthology" as start-up capital, Mikhail had also taken out a huge loan, the amount of which would even frighten some nobles.

Furthermore, Mikhail's novels also played a significant role. After all, in the current cultural circles of St. Petersburg, one thing has gradually become a consensus: whoever can get their hands on a novel by Mikhail will definitely make their magazine a hit. It's just a pity that Mikhail now only contributes to his own magazine.

In short, due to various reasons, although Mikhail did not do much work, he was indeed recognized by other magazines as the owner of "Modern Man" in terms of both reputation and shares.

With this in mind, Mikhail naturally agreed. And just two days after Mikhail agreed, Turgenev, who had been abroad for a long time, returned to St. Petersburg without the knowledge of many people.

There was no way around it. Ever since he helped Mikhail make a name for himself in France, Turgenev, who had been receiving a lot of attention, not only boasted to his heart's content, but also couldn't help but treat many people to meals. As a result, the little money in his pocket naturally dwindled rapidly.

To prevent himself from resorting to high-interest loans in France, Turgenev gritted his teeth and promptly withdrew from Paris and returned to St. Petersburg.

The journey back was quite tiring, but Turgenev didn't feel exhausted at all. Instead, he planned to take a quick shower and have a meal before going to his friends to tell them the story of "Turgenev's Paris Adventure".

Just as Turgenev finished his bath and went to eat at his favorite restaurant, he briefly reviewed in his mind what he had said and done in Paris.

Well, while the part involving Mikhail is somewhat exaggerated, it was indeed a necessary measure to better open up the situation, and therefore it can be said to be understandable.

I, Turgenev, am not a liar.

Just as Turgenev was thinking this, a rather heated debate suddenly broke out in the restaurant. Hearing a familiar name, Turgenev snapped out of his thoughts and listened to the argument with great interest.

As he listened, Turgenev's face, which had initially held a slight smile, grew increasingly blank.
"I heard that he completed that poem in less than the time it takes to drink a sip of tea!"

"You're wrong. My friend was there at the time. According to him, he didn't even move, and lines of poetry automatically appeared on the paper!"

"I heard it was God directly."

Turgenev: “???”

Where did I come from? Is this still Russia?

(End of this chapter)