I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 158 Nadya's First Meeting with Mikhail's Mother and Sister
Although Mikhail's mother, sister, and many others present thought he was absolutely radiant at the banquet, some aspiring writers even remarked to their companions, "If one day I could stand in that position like Mr. Mikhail, then my life would have been truly worthwhile!"

But for Mikhail, this was undoubtedly a tough job.

After all, the initial idea for this banquet was roughly that a small number of people would gather at Panayev's house for a lively gathering, and Mikhail would eat and drink as usual, chat with his friends, meet some new people, present some awards, and finally play cards again after a long time.

As a result, things have turned out this way. Although the people who came to this banquet also greeted Nekrasov and Panayev, they seemed to prefer to huddle around Mikhail and listen carefully to what he said, as if there was some secret hidden in it.

Even Krajevsky, the old rival of "The Contemporary," was like this. However, what set him apart from others was that he was there to eavesdrop on the potential business secrets hidden in Mikhail's words. After all, in his view, Mikhail, this cunning and insidious young man, seemed to care little about "The Contemporary" and the magazine industry in St. Petersburg, but in reality, he always managed to come up with some vicious plans to disrupt the status quo of the industry.

They talked about improving the royalty system, increasing royalties, promoting the standardization of royalties per print sheet, and even introducing something like a profit-sharing system.
In the long run, this will definitely benefit the magazine industry in St. Petersburg, and will to some extent promote the emergence of more excellent works. For example, "The Contemporary" received many good manuscripts this year because of its excellent payment. Even if we put aside Mikhail's novels, the quality of articles in "The Contemporary" is definitely higher than that of other magazines.

Therefore, it was almost inevitable that the number of subscribers to "Modern People" would increase.

But for Krajewsky, this was undoubtedly heartbreaking. To have so many rubles wasted on these writers like that—could there be anything more wasteful?!
But if we look at it from another angle, is it really just for charity that an ambitious young man like Mikhail does these things? Of course not!
Krajevsky shared his speculation with those around him: "In my opinion, he's just trying to win people over! Think about it, if he keeps doing this, the young writers in St. Petersburg will probably all think they've been indebted to him!"

If there are more and more young people like this, and he gives an order for his own selfish desires, who knows what kind of trouble he might cause!

What happened at the banquet confirmed Krajewsky's suspicions once again.

Because of his pride, although he wanted to eavesdrop on some truly useful business secrets, he would pretend to be chatting with someone else on the surface, and then stand in a relatively close position. It was precisely because of this that he could observe Mikhail's movements more clearly.

So he saw that no matter how inconspicuous the young people were, Mikhail could always call them by name accurately and then exchange pleasantries with them. As a result, the young people were either extremely grateful or deeply moved, and they seemed to be in a position where they could never repay Mr. Mikhail's kindness!

How could he possibly remember so many people, so many unknown nobodys?

He must have memorized it secretly for his own purposes!

To this, Mikhail can only say that he didn't actually carry it, but he did glance at the guest list a few times and listened to other people's introductions.
Besides, it must be said that these days, young people who pursue literature seem to come from pretty good families. Even if they aren't genuine St. Petersburg nobles, they are still minor nobles and landowners in the provinces, and their words should carry some weight in their localities.

Some of them were touched that Mikhail remembered their names, and they warmly invited him to visit them whenever he had the chance, promising to treat him well.

When Mikhail asked where their hometowns were, he was pleasantly surprised. Simply put, some of their family territories were located on the route that led to their exile to Siberia.

It's important to understand that since it's exile, it means there's an extremely dangerous stretch of road ahead before reaching the destination. Along this thousands-of-miles-long road of exile, people are abandoned or even thrown into the river at every stage due to injury, illness, or extreme cold. If someone could secretly offer some help along the way, it would make things a little easier.

No, this isn't some kind of unexpected surprise.
In addition, to be honest, Mikhail's university classmates also included quite a few such minor nobles.

Putting all that aside, the fact that Mikhail had to exchange pleasantries with so many people meant he had virtually no opportunity to eat and drink. At the same time, the variety of guests he received made things a bit difficult for him.

Among them were shameless types like Krajevsky. Even though Mikhail had heard from many people that this man had insulted him, once Mikhail's reputation seemed to grow, when he saw Mikhail again on such occasions, he would shake hands with Mikhail and exchange a few polite words.

Finally, they asked Mikhail if he wanted to submit some more articles to their magazine, promising him the best possible treatment.
Mikhail almost lost his composure at this.

There are indeed quite a few people like this. After all, although Mikhail is a man of few words, he has inexplicably made quite a few enemies in St. Petersburg. However, on the surface, these people seem to be quite polite to Mikhail.

Then there was the arrival of the general. In addition to exchanging warm greetings with Mikhail, the general was also quite willing to talk with the literary figures present about his views on Mikhail and other works. During this process, the general's novel perspectives undoubtedly attracted a lot of attention, especially his interpretation of Mikhail's works, which gave them a refreshing feeling.

Oh, I see!
To this, Mikhail can only say: slander! This is slander!
However, the general's interpretation sounds quite safe.

Meanwhile, members of the Petrashevsky Group also attended the banquet. Although Mikhail had only been there once and hadn't been back due to various commitments, many members of the Petrashevsky Group seemed to remember him and would greet him warmly whenever they bumped into each other on the street.

Since there was such a banquet, they would definitely have to attend. It is worth mentioning that many people in the Petrashevsky group were indeed writers, and to be honest, Belinsky also had an ambiguous relationship with this group, so it was even more impossible to refuse their invitation.

And so, the conservative, the liberal, and the radical were all present at this banquet, and at first glance, it actually seemed quite harmonious.
When the social engagements were finally over, Mikhail still couldn't sit down for a proper meal. Instead, he went straight to the front and introduced the "Contemporary Man" literary prize to the guests, and briefly looked ahead to the future of Russian literature.

Next came the announcement of the winners, and among them, the young Dostoevsky truly deserved his recognition. Whether Mikhail's presence played a role or not, Dostoevsky, while still somewhat extravagant with his money, hadn't driven himself to the brink of despair. Furthermore, his interpersonal relationships hadn't suffered a major blow, so Dostoevsky had been in excellent spirits for the past few months.

Even when things weren't going so well, or when his gambling urges were rising, the young Dostoevsky would approach Mikhail. Sometimes they would just chat, and sometimes they would play cards or other gambling games.

After completing this course of treatment, Lao Tuo instantly felt much calmer, and the idea of ​​gambling disappeared completely. As a result, he devoted more energy to literary creation, and the quality of his works was indeed excellent.

Even though it still contained many of Dostoevsky's personal thoughts and experiments, the results were indeed quite good, so his winning the award did not cause much controversy in the editorial department of "The Modern Man".

However, perhaps because the prize money was quite substantial for Lao Tuo and could solve his immediate financial crisis, he was indeed the most excited among the winners.

After Mikhail patted Old Doe on the shoulder with a smile to calm him down, he had almost completed his task and was finally able to sit down in front of the food at the banquet.

But before Mikhail could take any action, he discovered that there seemed to be new developments with his mother and sister.

In short, Nadya could certainly have come with the general to a literary banquet like this, but because Mikhail was too busy this time, the two didn't have much of an opportunity to chat.

But Nadya didn't find it boring, because she had only wanted to watch Mikhail from a distance for a while in the crowd. However, when she came to her senses, it seemed like a long time had passed in an instant.

At the same time, she also noticed a mother and daughter whose behavior seemed to be quite similar to her own. Out of curiosity, Nadya glanced at them a few more times, and in those two glances, she couldn't take her eyes off them. She suddenly realized that the mother and daughter seemed to have many similarities with Mikhail in appearance. Thinking about some things that Mikhail had mentioned in his recent letters, it was very likely that the mother and daughter were his mother and sister.
Upon considering this possibility, Nadya's heart suddenly raced, and she almost lost her composure and elegance. She wavered between walking over quickly and running away for a while before finally calming down. After some hesitation, she decided that since they had met so rarely, it would be better to say hello.

After carefully checking her attire, Nadya naturally walked over to Prihria and Dunya. As Prihria and Dunya slowly recovered from their daze, they were surprised to see this captivating noblewoman standing beside them. Before they could nervously ask her anything, she spoke first:

"Hello."

Nadya gave a slight, slightly nervous bow. Seeing the confusion on their faces, she looked at Prikhria and said, "I apologize for my intrusion, but I noticed that Mr. Mikhail bears many similarities to you, so I thought..."

Upon hearing this, Prihria and Dunya immediately understood. However, what they couldn't believe was that their son (brother) had met such a young noblewoman, and that she could even see the resemblance between them.

You should know that this is not an easy thing to do; you probably wouldn't be able to tell without careful observation.

so
Despite the many possibilities, Prihria and Dunya were slightly flustered at this moment, and then answered nervously, "Yes, I am his mother Prihria, and this is his sister Dunya. It's nice to meet you."

“I am also very happy to meet you. I am Nadezhda Alexandrovna.”

She had greeted him, but at this point, the seventeen-year-old girl, lacking relevant experience and courage, was at a loss for words, and even found it difficult to explain her relationship with Mikhail.

Prihria desperately wanted to ask, "Then what is your relationship with my son?"

But seeing the slight embarrassment on the noblewoman's face, Prihria, even out of politeness, wouldn't ask any more questions. So she could only tentatively start talking to the girl. As they chatted, after realizing that the girl's personality and manner of speaking were indeed very good, Mikhail's mother and sister gradually relaxed.

After noticing this situation, Mikhail, unusually, initially ignored the food in front of him, then glanced at them from time to time. Only after noticing that their atmosphere seemed genuinely harmonious did Mikhail finally turn his attention back to the banquet.

As the awards banquet drew to a close amidst the lively atmosphere, the guests gradually departed. After reuniting with her mother and sister, Mikhail didn't feel comfortable directly asking them what had just happened.

After all, this matter is indeed difficult to explain, and it's still uncertain how things will turn out.

In the end, it was Mikhail's sister who looked at him with complicated emotions and said:

"Brother, I originally thought you were a bit slow and dull in some ways, but I never expected you to be like this."

Mikhail: “?”

That sounds a little strange.
(End of this chapter)