I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 157 "On the Origin of Species" and the Feast
Despite their complete trust in Mikhail, Prihria and Dunya mostly took his words as jokes.

After all, only a few months have passed since they left last time. In such a short time, is it really possible to earn such a high income and have such a deep network of connections by relying solely on a magazine?

What's even more unbelievable than the seemingly unreal income is that an awards banquet could attract almost half of St. Petersburg's cultural circles. This is St. Petersburg, after all. In a place like this, you could throw a brick and it might hit a few officials or nobles. As for the cultural figures, they are mostly from landowning and aristocratic backgrounds.

In this situation, what kind of person would be able to bring these noble gentlemen together?
Therefore, in Prihria's guess, it shouldn't be difficult for Mikhail to attend such a banquet, but he should just be an ordinary member of such a banquet. It would be difficult enough for him to even talk to some of the people there. How could he possibly be the organizer or an important figure of such a banquet?
Mikhail found his mother and sister's reactions quite normal, since even he himself hadn't expected things to go so smoothly.

After that topic was over, Mikhail talked to his mother and sister about his upcoming arrangements and plans in St. Petersburg.

If all goes well, Mikhail's mother and sister will be staying in St. Petersburg for a while, which may require Mikhail to move to a larger house. As for where they will live after that, Mikhail hasn't fully decided yet, but he still asked with a smile:
"Mom, Dunya, would you like to go abroad next? Like to countries like France or England?"

"Going abroad? Do we have that opportunity?"

For ordinary people these days, going abroad is quite difficult, not only because it's expensive, but also because the procedures are complicated. Therefore, Mikhail's mother and sister, while surprised, couldn't help but ask:

"Even if you're going on a trip, you don't need to go this far, right? How much would that cost? And what kind of place is England? I rarely hear anyone mention it."

In Russia during this era, due to the Russian upper class's imitation and learning of French culture, even the common people had heard of it to some extent. As for Britain, they really only had a vague impression of it.

However, for Mikhail, Britain was a good choice, whether to make money or to prepare in advance. Putting everything else aside, just looking at the state of the cultural industry, Britain's literary market and level of discussion during this period were no less than those of France, and there were indeed many famous writers.

Almost two years later, in 1847, the Brontë sisters' works, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey, were published one after another. Among them, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights caused a sensation in the British literary world.

As for Dickens, he had undoubtedly established his position in the British literary world during this period. In 1849, he began serializing one of his important works, David Copperfield. Also in that year, Dickens sent a letter to The Times with anger and sorrow, in which he denounced the ignorance and apathy of the British people.

In short, in Britain at the time, watching a hanging was practically a form of mass entertainment; wherever there was a public execution, there would be crowds of onlookers. Seeing how much the British public loved watching it, British merchants had a brilliant idea: they built huge open-air viewing platforms next to the execution grounds.

The seats on the terrace are still sold at a price, the price depending on the distance of the seat from the condemned prisoner and the status of the condemned prisoner. The number of free spectators standing below the stands may reach several thousand, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, depending on the executioner.

The execution Dickens witnessed involved a couple convicted of murder, and because it was the first time a couple had been executed simultaneously in London, it attracted at least 30,000 Londoners to watch.

Dickens witnessed and documented this scene, expressing his hatred and condemnation of the phenomenon. His letter sparked widespread discussion, which ultimately led to the repeal of public executions in Britain.

The reason for bringing this up is that Mikhail is indeed going to include this part in his adapted version of "Around the World in Eighty Days," and it remains to be seen what kind of reaction this work will generate after it is published in the UK.

Besides literature, there is much to say about other areas of British literature. For example, in 1845, Darwin was already writing a paper on evolution, but he was still extremely cautious about publishing his research results.

It wasn't until 1858, under pressure from the creative epiphany of the young naturalist Wallace, and encouraged by his friends, that Darwin finally decided to submit Wallace's article and some of his own manuscripts to the professional committee.

Thus, in 1859, the groundbreaking masterpiece "On the Origin of Species" was officially published, thus turning a new page in human history.

If fate allows, Mikhail might actually be able to have a conversation with this mild-mannered biologist in England.

Speaking of biologists, Mendel, the Austrian biologist whose main profession was priest and whose side job was growing peas, did not begin his eight-year pea experiments until 1856. It was during this period that the peas he grew would dominate the entire field of modern genetics and become a glorious page in the history of human science.

Unfortunately, Mendel didn't receive the recognition he deserved until 16 years after his death. If Mikhail had had enough influence by then, he might have been able to help Mendel gain fame earlier. Otherwise, it's ultimately too tragic to become famous only after death.
In short, going abroad is definitely something I'll do. There are many things worth witnessing firsthand and even getting involved in. As for the question of how much money it would cost, which Mikhail's mother and sister mentioned, Mikhail simply smiled and said:

"Don't worry, if I go abroad, I'll most likely earn more than I spend."

After all, books like "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" are also excellent choices.
"Really?" Although Mikhail's mother and sister were quite puzzled about how Mikhail could earn money abroad, they didn't press the matter further since the carriage had already arrived at Mikhail's home. Instead, they were filled with joy and prepared to take a good look at Mikhail's new residence.

While preparing to take a good look around, Dunya also planned to tidy up Mikhail's house. Her brother was certainly not dirty, but he often seemed too casual, so his place always looked a bit messy.

But when this earnest and calm girl walked in with such thoughts, she was stunned by the scene in the room. After she came to her senses, she first looked at Mikhail with surprise, then quickly shook her head, and then looked at Mira, the little helper behind Mikhail.

Mikhail: “?”

While your guess is correct, please don't make the guessing process so obvious.
In short, compared to before, Mikhail's current residence is now kept in a very clean state, which is undoubtedly thanks to his maid, Mira.

Because of this, Mikhail's mother and sister quickly became close to the little girl. In this lively atmosphere, the long-separated family soon enjoyed a sumptuous lunch that Mikhail had prepared in advance. During the meal, Prikhlya and Dunya told Mikhail a lot about their family, mainly expressing their pride and even saying:
“Even our local landlord has heard about you and came to pay us a visit. Although he still has the arrogance of a landlord in front of us, dear Misha, we reckon he'll be much more attentive to you!”

Does this mean that I, Mikhail, have also become the Lord of St. Petersburg?
After the family finished their meal happily, Mikhail's mother and sister took a break to relieve their fatigue from the journey, while Mikhail continued to busy himself with the awards banquet.

It's quite a coincidence that the banquet is being held around today. Although Nekrasov and Panayev are busy with many things, Mikhail, as the mascot, is indispensable to some extent, often busy with inviting so-and-so and meeting so-and-so.

As for who will receive the magazine's award, Mikhail will definitely withdraw from the selection process. Otherwise, as Nekrasov said, "Mikhail, if you participated in the selection, would anyone vote against you?"

Panaev joked, "Mikhail may not know who voted in favor, but I reckon he knows perfectly well who voted against!"

Mikhail is certainly not that kind of person, but things are indeed as they say: if he really participates in this selection, then the other authors of "The Modern Man" will really have no hope.

If Mikhail did not participate in the selection, the question of who to choose would cause a lot of controversy and discussion in the editorial department of "Modern Man". However, as time went by, the final selection was of course finalized, and the list will be announced at the banquet that evening.

There's not much left to do at this point; all that's left is to change into presentable clothes and head to the banquet.

After his mother and sister had rested for a few hours, Mikhail asked them if they wanted to go to the banquet. After receiving a hesitant reply, "Really?", Mikhail immediately nodded and said, "Of course."

In truth, Prikhlya and Dunya were quite timid and hesitant about such an aristocratic banquet. Fortunately, women like them didn't have to show their faces in public, and they had already gotten to know the noblewoman Panayeva through Mikhail beforehand, and they got along quite well with her.
Therefore, in order to understand Mikhail's current situation more accurately, they changed into the clothes that Mikhail had specially bought for them with some trepidation. When the time came, the family headed to a certain place.

Because of the large number of guests at the banquet, Mikhail and his family naturally found a larger venue. After arriving at their destination, Mikhail first settled his mother and sister in, and then had to look at the guests who came to greet him one by one, and then invited them to take their seats.

As Mikhail began his somewhat dreary work, Prikhlya and Dunya stood with Panayeva in one place. Before they could even marvel at the venue and the large number of guests at the banquet, they couldn't help but watch Mikhail begin his business with slightly dazed eyes.

In their initial expectations, Mikhail would either be sitting quietly in a corner or chatting with his friends. But now, for some reason, groups of people were approaching Mikhail to greet him. Even though some people were not friendly and even whispered among themselves before greeting him, they still showed a smile that seemed to be somewhat ingratiating when they actually went over.

As more and more guests arrived, it seemed that a few important figures came. As soon as they appeared, they attracted attention and flattery. However, before dealing with the other people's hospitality, they still chose to come to Mikhail first and speak to him in a friendly manner.

Among them, a middle-aged man who was dressed very well and looked very serious and dignified at first glance was the most enthusiastic. Judging from the faint voices coming from him, this gentleman seemed to be a general of considerable rank.

As time went on, Mikhail gradually moved to the center of the crowd. After the banquet officially began, he walked to the very front and, under the gaze of many people, called out a few names.

Then a few people walked forward somewhat helplessly, the most excited of whom looked as if he was about to faint while holding Mikhail.

This was immediately followed by enthusiastic applause.

All of this took a very long time, but for Prihria and Dunya, who were almost turned to stone, it all seemed to have happened in the blink of an eye.
(End of this chapter)