I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 181 Sales and Graduation Poems
To be honest, as a native Parisian, the owner of Le Soir believes that the scathing British jokes and the scenes that expose and ridicule the British in "Around the World in Eighty Days" are definitely among the best parts of the novel. During its serialization, almost all Parisian readers smiled knowingly when they read it, and quite a few readers wrote to express their desire to see more.

Therefore, normally, as a proud Frenchman, he would have firmly rejected the British's unreasonable demands, perhaps even taking the opportunity to mock their shamelessness and hypocrisy. However, since this matter involved money...
The Century newspaper quickly responded, stating that the work embodies much of the author's hard work and cannot be easily changed. If this is to be done, the revenue sharing ratio in the contract needs to be further negotiated to find a suitable solution. In that case, there would be no problem with doing so.

British publishers naturally disagreed with this unreasonable demand.

To be honest, the British publishers debated for a long time about whether or not to bring this bestseller to the UK.

As long-time rivals who have been engaged in a physical battle for over a century, Britain and France are not exactly on good terms. However, at the same time, both Britain and France have been closely monitoring each other's movements in various fields and have been trying to make things difficult for the other.

A classic example is that after Louis XVI ascended the throne, he became ruthless and decided to support the independence movement in the North American colonies in order to fight against Britain and avenge the defeat in the Seven Years' War.

In this process, Louis XVI not only provided funds and supplies but also dispatched troops to directly participate in the fighting. It is said that during the American Revolutionary War, France supplied approximately 30 muskets, 20 sets of uniforms, and hundreds of artillery pieces, as well as sending a large number of troops and naval personnel. 94% of the gunpowder used by the US military came from France, and at its peak, 12000 French army soldiers and 32000 French navy personnel directly participated in the fighting.

With these actions, Louis XVI not only earned the title of "Father of the United States" among the people, but his actions also exacerbated France's financial crisis and inadvertently triggered the French Revolution. It can be said that the United States was all smiles, while Louis XVI made a careless mistake.

Incidentally, the Statue of Liberty was also a gift from France to the United States in 1886 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of American independence and the friendship between the two countries.

As for other fields, for example, syphilis is called the English disease by the French and the French disease by the British. But if we really count the famous writers who had syphilis, there are probably more from the French side. One well-known but not confirmed example from the British side is William Shakespeare, who is hailed as "Zeus on Mount Olympus of human literature".

Therefore, it is perfectly normal for some British jokes to appear in French literature. In theory, the British booksellers responsible for importing French books should have been used to this. However, the novel "Around the World in Eighty Days" still made them both love and hate it.

What I love is that the book ultimately features a British protagonist, and anyone who has read the entire novel would likely agree that this British character is quite charismatic. What I hate is that the insults and plot points that insult the British Empire are integrated into the novel too perfectly. If they were to be removed one by one, some of the important plot points of the novel would undoubtedly become somewhat inexplicable.

The debate over whether or not to introduce it arose from this.

However, it must be said that this novel has a very high chance of becoming a bestseller in Britain. Therefore, in the end, British booksellers could only painstakingly revise certain plots while cursing the Russian author's authentic British jokes.

However, to be fair, some parts of it are indeed a bit laughable even to the British themselves.
While struggling with the translation and revision, British booksellers were repeatedly shocked by the author's nationality. How could those barbaric Russians have such abilities? Could it be that this was actually a British person looking to make money who had deliberately forged a name and nationality to come to France and rake in cash?
Judging from the protagonist's nationality, this speculation does not seem to be entirely unfounded.

While some booksellers in Britain were discussing this matter, The Century was also quite pleased with the sales of the standalone edition of "Around the World in Eighty Days".

Although it was supposed to be a standalone book, in order to make more money, the publisher actually adopted a multi-volume format, with each volume containing 4 to 6 chapters, priced at one franc, and then released in installments.

Given the scale of "Around the World in Eighty Days," it can probably only be published in seven or eight volumes. Only after the volumes are sold out will the standalone volumes be released. It is worth mentioning that not long after that, the first volume has officially sold over 10,000 copies. Such sales would be considered very popular even in Paris, basically second only to Alexandre Dumas.

Mikhail's share will be deposited into a bank account in Paris after the settlement. The amount in this account is currently growing, and when Mikhail withdraws it in person in France, it will likely be an astonishing sum.
Despite the indeed impressive sales figures, the owner of *The Century* newspaper, while contemplating whether to keep another mistress, was also eagerly anticipating the arrival of new works, to the point that he would occasionally mention it to Giladan:
"Let Mr. Mikhail's works come quickly! Why can't he learn from Mr. Dumas? Mr. Dumas sometimes serialized two or three novels at the same time! Doesn't he want to achieve fame and success? Doesn't he want to keep a few more mistresses? At his age, how dare he be so lazy!"

As he was talking about this, Mikhail's new novel, after being repeatedly checked to ensure there were no problems, was already on its way. It is worth mentioning that since he wanted to thoroughly establish the concept of science fiction, Mikhail did not plan to change the subject matter for the time being, but instead wanted to write a couple more books.

As for which book it is, we can only say that this work happens to have some connection with the Tsar and Poland.
While everything was progressing steadily, Mikhail and a group of other students at St. Petersburg University were also spending time preparing for their upcoming graduation exams. To be honest, the law school graduation exams were not difficult for Mikhail, as they mainly tested his ability to memorize and apply legal provisions.

During the process of preparing for his graduation exams, Mikhail naturally inquired about Dmitry's situation. After all, Dmitry should have graduated around the same time as him. Dmitry simply scratched his head and replied quite decisively, "I spent a lot of time attending various gatherings and didn't study much, so my graduation was delayed."

Mikhail: “.”

The revolution ruined my dream of graduating, didn't it?
Another point worth mentioning is that in Russia at that time, an ordinary university student only needed to pass the annual exams and the final comprehensive oral exam to graduate, without having to submit a thesis. Those who completed their studies would receive a "higher education graduation certificate" and "expert titles" such as legal expert or engineer. With these, they could directly take up a job.

Mikhail thinks this arrangement is actually quite reasonable, since can an ordinary undergraduate write a proper thesis?
Of course, looking at later generations, it seems quite normal for a master's student to produce a mess of writings.

Returning to present-day Russia, after undergraduate studies, students can complete one or two additional years of study, submit an independent thesis, and successfully defend it to obtain a master's degree.

This was the course of Cheryl's life. After graduating with his bachelor's degree, he returned to his hometown to teach for a year or two. After getting married, he moved back to St. Petersburg. Finding life increasingly difficult, Cheryl decided to pursue a master's degree to alleviate the pressure. It was during this time that Cheryl wrote his acclaimed work, "The Aesthetic Relation of Art to Reality," which embodied a materialist view of art. This was undoubtedly a challenge to the stagnant idealist view of art held by Nicholas I in his later years, and thus his dissertation was suppressed until after Nicholas I's death, when it was finally accepted.

In short, Mikhail did not find the exam too difficult, and in the final period, he spent less time preparing for the exam and more time chatting with his classmates from university.

Mikhail is not confused about the distant future, but for many other college students, after graduation, their lives seem to be in a vacuum. The knowledge they learned in school may not be useful in real life. In the end, when it comes to facing reality, it depends on their family background and what kind of arrangements they can make for them.

Even with plans in place, no one knows exactly where they'll end up in the future—whether they'll remain in an ordinary position until the end or experience a new change. After all, not everyone is like Lao Che, able to rise from a teacher to a position of great renown based solely on their talent.

From this perspective, it is not difficult to understand why young people in Russia like to participate in certain grand narratives or even directly participate in the revolution.

Among those who had become acquainted with Mikhail were Yevgeny, a young nobleman who had previously read "The Superfluous Man" in class and met Mikhail. Yevgeny was about to start working in a government unit under his family's arrangement, and he still believed that he could do something beneficial in the Russian administration.

There was also Alexander, a short young man from a clergy family who was supposed to return to his hometown to become a teacher. He seemed very interested in the educational philosophy that Mikhail mentioned casually.

Then there's Boris, a nobleman who doesn't want to do anything but simply loves poetry and literature, and Medved, a businessman who will return home after graduation to inherit the family business and then travel around with his father doing small business.
Different people seem to have different plans, and even though many of them seem to have their own things to do, they are still somewhat confused. For those who are particularly confused and don't have many options, Mikhail, who thinks the other person is a decent person, sometimes casually says, "In the future, I might need some people to work with me."

The reason for saying this is that Mikhail does indeed plan to invest in some things in the future, such as building some schools, hospitals, or other things. He will definitely need manpower then, and he even needs it now. It would be best if there were a few people in Paris to help Mikhail handle some affairs.

For some reason, when Mikhail's classmates heard him say this, some of them trembled involuntarily and said in a trembling voice, "Can someone like me really do great things with you?"

Mikhail: “?”

Teaching seems like doing something important, right?
Amidst these events, Mikhail spent his final days at St. Petersburg University. His graduation exams went remarkably smoothly, so smoothly that Mikhail wondered if the law professors had accepted bribes. In short, the questions were mostly simple and didn't touch on any controversial topics.

In short, in a rather harmonious atmosphere, Mikhail passed his graduation exam. On the day he passed the exam, there seemed to be an unusually large number of students who came to watch him and talk to him. After all, many of them probably knew that this might be the last time they would see the writer Mikhail.

Mikhail was talking to some people around him, but as the crowd surged again and again, he was unknowingly pushed to the highest point in the crowd. With so many people, it was obviously impossible for Mikhail to respond to each one, let alone give a speech.

After all, it wouldn't be long before teachers, supervisors, or others who had rushed to the scene would begin to evacuate the crowd. So, in the last bit of time, thinking about the new challenges he was about to face and that others might be facing the same thing, Mikhail raised his hand.

Even though not everyone realized what he was about to do, the restless scene unconsciously quieted down, and it was at this moment that Mikhail recited a poem entitled "The Will of the Wild" in a clear and powerful voice:

I enjoy this kind of competition:
Everyone was fierce and proud.

May my adversary be a tiger.
And eagles!
May a proud voice sing:

"Here is death, there is prison!"

May the night, the night itself
Fight alongside me!
.
I ran wildly—and someone fell behind me.

I laughed out loud—my hand gripping the lasso tightly…

May the hurricane

Tear me to pieces!
.
May all adversaries be heroes!
May this feast end in war!

May there be only two things in the world:
Me and the world!

(End of this chapter)