I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 177 Reactions and Genealogy

Before Turgenev returned, many people in the Russian literary world had heard about Mikhail's novel being serialized in Paris through other channels.

However, because the speed of information transmission was indeed slow in those days, even the most well-informed people had difficulty obtaining firsthand information. It was only after the telegraph became popular in various European countries that long-distance communication of information was truly realized.

Furthermore, strictly speaking, as an outsider, Mikhail was subjected to months of criticism regarding his work. It only began to improve after the middle of the serialization, and after the astonishing ending of "Around the World in Eighty Days" was published, the Parisian newspapers began to offer mostly praise.

Even at this point, it was still quite normal to be criticized and nitpicked by Parisian writers and critics. Parisian writers were constantly arguing amongst themselves, let alone when facing an outsider.

In this situation, even if Russia heard any news, it was mostly negative. When good news seemed to come later, the Russians were less likely to believe it.

What? You're saying a novel that's been criticized for so long has suddenly become popular with readers in Paris?

How can it be!

Mikhail's friends were undoubtedly quite interested in his news, and when they learned that his novels were being frequently criticized in Paris, while they cursed the French, they also tacitly avoided mentioning these things in front of Mikhail.

Some of them had even prepared their lines to comfort Mikhail: "It's alright, Mikhail. The literary competition in Paris is too fierce. It's normal to fail."

However, after Turgenev, carrying a large amount of evidence and boastful anecdotes, wandered around some literary salons in St. Petersburg, the next morning, when his maid Mira got up early to do her work as usual, she suddenly heard a series of rapid footsteps outside Mikhail's door, and knocking soon followed.

Mira, the maid, glanced at the time: "?"

Am I not working hard enough, or are the gentlemen in St. Petersburg just getting more and more diligent?
When the door was opened, what came into Mila's eyes were faces covered with a sickly redness. Some people had bloodshot eyes and looked as if they hadn't slept at all. Upon seeing this, the girl immediately shrank back in fright. However, after seeing a few familiar faces, she managed to restrain herself from instinctively closing the door.

While inviting the group of gentlemen in to sit down, the maid Mira hurriedly prepared to wake Mikhail, as such a scene was clearly beyond her capabilities.

Fortunately, Mikhail had gone to bed very early yesterday. He woke up briefly in the middle of the night, but seeing that there was nothing to do, he simply went back to sleep. As a result, he woke up quite early today. When Mikhail heard the noise in the house, he opened the door and came out.

Mikhail glanced at the sky outside and at the group of people in his house: "?"

Although Mikhail looked disheveled and unkempt after just waking up, and even yawned in bewilderment, his friends, who had already occupied his living room, were still looking at him with a somewhat fanatical expression.

Before Mikhail could even voice his questions, they all rushed toward him, shouting things like "Hurrah!" and "No one has ever done anything like this before!" as they lifted him up, seemingly trying to hoist him high into the air.

Mikhail: “???”

Why do you want me to fly so early in the morning?

Besides, my ceiling isn't actually that high. You'd be happy if you accidentally lifted me too high in your excitement and knocked me unconscious.
After finally calming his friends down, Mikhail pieced together the truth from their incoherent statements:
"I've heard a bit about it, but how could it have become this popular? Parisians themselves are saying that half of Paris is reading Mikhail's novel!"

"Has no Russian novel ever become popular in Paris before?!"

“I never expected that Mikhail wouldn’t only target readers from Russia, but also readers from other countries!”

"My God, it is said that he has received praise from several great French writers, including Balzac and George Sand, whom we are quite familiar with. I wonder what they wrote to Mikhail in their letters."

After basically understanding what had happened, Mikhail did not begin to enjoy his moment of glory as others had expected. Mikhail only thought for a moment before looking directly at Turgenev, who was too exhausted from bragging the night before and could only sit on the sofa, and then strode over to him.

When Turgenev realized that the person surrounded by everyone was walking towards him, he quickly stood up from his seat. After exchanging a smile with Mikhail, the two embraced tightly because of their long-awaited reunion.

As mentioned before, Russian relatives and friends have a tradition after a long separation. After embracing each other, Mikhail first smiled and said to everyone, "Turgenev deserves at least half the credit for the novel's popularity in France!"

Then he inquired about Belinsky's condition: "How is my dear Vesalion? Is he alright lately? Has his condition improved?"

"He's much better! His cough has stopped, and his complexion has become rosy. If I hadn't tried so hard to stop him, he probably would have wanted to go back to Russia to continue his work long ago! He keeps talking about you and his other friends when he's out."

At this point, Turgenev couldn't help but look at Mikhail with a surprised expression and said, "Speaking of which, we really have to thank you, Mikhail. You told us that we could try a tuberculosis specialist named Tirard Marmor. When we first found this gentleman, we were still skeptical, after all, many people thought he was a fraud. But after trying his treatment for a period of time, the results were really good."

Faced with such a gaze, Mikhail simply smiled slightly and explained, "I just happened to see it in the newspaper you brought me earlier."

This isn't exactly the truth. In the actual course of history, Belinsky took several detours before finally encountering such a reliable doctor. However, just as his condition was improving, Belinsky flew into a rage because of Gogol's "Letters to a Friend," and then abandoned treatment and returned directly to Russia.

However, if he continues to receive proper treatment, Belinsky will likely live for many more years. But at the same time, as the undisputed leader of the reactionary intellectuals in St. Petersburg's cultural circles, if Belinsky were to live past 1848, his chances of being subjected to the Tsar's iron fist would be greater than anyone else's.

We don't know what the situation will be like then.
But before worrying about those things, let's get back to the present.

After Turgenev finished telling Mikhail about Belinsky, he finally got into the mood for boasting again, and immediately started talking to Mikhail about how much of a sensation Mikhail's novels had caused in Paris. Mikhail just smiled and nodded at these things.

But as he listened, Mikhail suddenly felt that something was not quite right.

It's quite nice that Alexandre Dumas wants to treat me to dinner. When this guy was rich, he was really generous. After he made his fortune with "The Count of Monte Cristo," he would hold a special banquet every week to treat a large group of people to free food and drinks. Even putting that aside, following a gourmet with a big appetite like Alexandre Dumas, I must have been able to eat a lot of delicious food.

This is a good thing, but...
"For some reason, the great French writer Victor Hugo doesn't have a very good impression of you. If you ask me, it's all because of jealousy!" "Mr. Balzac says he has a big business deal with you. If you're willing to invest, francs will flow into your pockets!"

"For some reason, a Polish musician named Frédéric François Chopin wants to discuss music with you. You'd better be careful!"

Mikhail: “???”

As for Victor Hugo, I really like his "Les Misérables," so why is it like this before I've even seen it?
Following Balzac to make big money? Ha! I, Mikhail, am past the age of thinking "all in is wisdom."

As for Chopin, the fact that I have to be careful suggests that becoming friends with him won't be easy. And judging from this, I... am dealing with Chopin regarding musical matters? Huh? You mean me?

By the end, Mikhail was speechless, pointing at himself and staring dumbfounded at Turgenev, who was still talking non-stop.

You didn't brag too much and cause me trouble, did you?!

what? !

After Turgenev finished his boastful ramblings, he finally realized something and, somewhat guiltily, observed Mikhail's reaction.

Unfortunately, boasting is a double-edged sword. While it can quickly gain fame, it inevitably causes some setbacks.

While Turgenev was feeling somewhat guilty, Mikhail, after his initial shock and disbelief, had now calmed down to some extent.

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright, my sword isn't at a disadvantage either!

Oh right, Chopin, you can go ahead now.

In short, since things have come to this...
"Let's go have breakfast, friends."

Looking at his friends who were still excitedly surrounding him, Mikhail, after learning that he had made a name for himself in Paris, waved his hand for the first time and declared his victory: "My treat!"

"Oh! Hurrah!"

Mira, the little girl who watched the whole thing, was like: "???"

Why are they so agitated? They don't look like they can't afford to eat!
After the tumultuous day passed, and as time went on and word spread, the impact of this event was far from over. Especially with the publication of related content in the newspapers, soon, wherever newspapers were in sight in St. Petersburg, people couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment:

"Are you kidding me? This really isn't fake news?!"

"It quotes a lot of content from Parisian newspapers, as well as the original French text, so it doesn't look fake."

"The French are so cheesy! How can they say such compliments?"

"I'm going crazy! What exactly is this Mr. Mikhail serializing in Paris? We Russians want to see it too! Hurry up and serialize it in Russian magazines and newspapers!"

"Is this really possible? I still can't believe it."

"It's Mr. Mikhail again? I've known for a long time that Mr. Mikhail is a big shot who can go all over Europe, but I didn't expect this day to come so soon!"

"To be able to do something like this, even His Majesty the Tsar would surely take notice, right? I feel that even His Majesty the Tsar has never seen anything like this before!"

Aside from the constant commotion in the streets and alleys of St. Petersburg, as the news spread, many of Mikhail's acquaintances naturally saw similar news. For example, on one ordinary morning, when Nadya, who had not yet heard the news, saw her father in her living room, she was surprised to find that her father was no longer smiling, but was deep in thought.

When the general finally snapped out of his reverie, he couldn't help but speak to Nadya, who was nearby:
“My dear Nadya, do you think Mikhail might be deceiving me? Is he really a genuine St. Petersburg native, or maybe a Muscovite, but he doesn’t want to reveal it for some reason? Or perhaps he really is a descendant of some French nobleman?”

Nadya: "???"

you ask me?
I actually hope that's the case.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Nikkichenko, the editor and censor of "Modern Man," felt that he had been having a really bad time lately. The most important thing was that there were quite a few people who were dissatisfied with the content of the chapter "The Insulted and Hurt," and there were quite a few reports. As a result, the higher-ups who received the news really put pressure on him.

They either need to cut the content or simply ban this issue altogether.

To be honest, Nikkichenko didn't want to do this, but some things are just unavoidable. So when the warning came down from above, he could only begin to delete and modify some of the content with great difficulty.

However, for some reason, one day, Nikichenko suddenly received a similar instruction to "wait and see." Just as he was puzzled, a student at St. Petersburg University enthusiastically handed him several newspapers.

After seeing it, Nikki Chanko was like: "???"

what? !

Do you also know this?
You should have told me earlier!

(End of this chapter)