I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 241 Homecoming and Imperial Grain
On March 21, 1846, in this extraordinary year, the severe cold showed no signs of warming up until the end of March. For health reasons, Bellings should have returned to St. Petersburg in the summer. However, he had been away from this land for too long, and his concern for his family, friends and career was growing stronger. So, on this day, he finally arrived in St. Petersburg.

At first glance, the sky was dark and the sunlight was weak. The streets and rooftops were still covered with thick, solid snow. The air was biting and piercing, and every breath carried a white mist. Pedestrians hurried along the road, and occasionally a few vendors could be seen selling hot honey water, baked flatbread, and other warming foods.

Compared to winter in France, winter in Russia is obviously much harsher and more bleak, but Belinsky felt an indescribable sense of closeness as he walked on such streets.

Having been away from St. Petersburg for almost a year, Belinsky first looked around curiously, and only after he was finally satisfied did he stride towards his home.

Since Mikhail's house wasn't far from his, Belinsky even took a detour to visit it.

The scene he had imagined of the heavy snow burying Mikhail's house did not happen. Or rather, the ordinary house was not much different from when Mikhail was not there. It was obvious that someone came to clean it regularly. When Belinsky went there, he saw a rather strong middle-aged woman clearing the snow in front of Mikhail's house.

Slightly surprised, Belinsky did not go forward to disturb him, but continued walking towards his home.

Belinsky was fairly aware of some of Mikhail's arrangements in Russia.

Firstly, due to her age, physical condition, and status, Mila, the young maid in Mikhail's household, was entrusted by Mikhail to Panayeva, and is currently studying knowledge and other things with Panayeva.

Secondly, although Mikhail was not physically present, the rubles in his account were increasing faster every day. Before leaving, Mikhail had already planned how to use such a large sum of money: part of it would go to universities, part to the Russian cultural circles to support new talents, and part to various charitable causes.

Therefore, even when Mikhail is not in Russia, events held in his name still occur every two or three months. As a result, Mikhail now has not only literary prestige in Russia, but his social prestige is also gradually accumulating.

As expected of Mikhail, he seems nonchalant but actually has far-reaching plans.
Just as Belinsky was reflecting on this, he suddenly seemed to run into an "acquaintance" on the road. Although Belinsky and the man were both in the literary circle, this Mr. Bulgarin had always been Belinsky's enemy and regarded him as a leper, unwilling to be with him.

Of course, Belinsky also disliked Bulgarin.

When Belinsky saw Bulgarin, who was wearing thick clothes, and Bulgarin clearly saw him too, Belinsky thought that Bulgarin would ignore him and walk straight ahead as before. However, Bulgarin stopped, his face showing embarrassment and desolation. He moved his lips but did not speak. His attitude finally became respectful, and he clearly called out, "Mr. Belinsky..."

Belinsky: "?"

Just as Belinsky was wondering if there was something wrong with his ears, the other man's next action put his mind at ease. Bulgarin suddenly craned his neck to look behind Belinsky, and then said rather warmly, "You've returned from France. And what about Mr. Mikhail? Has he returned as well?"

"Not yet, he still has some things to take care of over there."

Sensing Bulgarin's attitude, Belinsky seemed to shudder. Because he was really uncomfortable with it, he quickly left after giving Bulgarin a perfunctory reply.

When Belinsky finally arrived home, it was a wonderful time for him to reunite with his wife and children. Thanks to Mikhail, who made proper arrangements in this regard, even though Belinsky was unable to work at the magazine due to recuperation, Mikhail still paid a certain amount of salary to Belinsky's family.

After the Belinsky family embraced, cried, laughed, and talked for a long time, news of Belinsky's return to St. Petersburg spread quickly, almost immediately attracting the attention of many people in the St. Petersburg literary world.

On the one hand, it was due to Belinsky's influence and status in the literary world; on the other hand, a considerable number of people wanted to inquire about Mikhail's current situation in Europe and whether he had caused any other disturbances.

But Belinsky clearly lacked experience in dealing with so many guests, so he had no choice but to go to the office of the magazine "Modern Man" to find Nekrasov and Panayev.

Belinsky basically thought that in just one year, the "Modern Man" magazine office wouldn't change much. But when he walked into the magazine office, he stood there stunned for a while. When he saw the young and unfamiliar faces and the visitors coming and going, Belinsky couldn't help but show a genuine smile.

Our team has grown even stronger!
Mikhail would be very happy to see this!

Overjoyed, Belinsky soon reunited with Nekrasov and Panayev, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. Upon seeing Belinsky, the two embraced him warmly.
"My dear Vesalion, you look so much better than before!"

After the three had chatted happily for a while, upon learning of Belinsky's recent predicament, Panaev immediately said:
"I already thought of that. In my opinion, let's just hold a banquet at my house! I estimate that many people will come, and you can take the opportunity to answer some of their questions, saving them from bothering you one after another. As for what they want to ask, you should know, right?"

"of course."

Belinsky, who was not used to such public appearances, said with some distress, "Not to mention here, even in Paris I can't live a peaceful life. There's only this one downside to getting too close to Mikhail."

“Of course, do you think we don’t feel the same way in Russia? Mikhail’s brilliance seems to transcend the whole of Europe.”

After the three of them exchanged a few simple jokes, the arrangements for the banquet were quickly made.

Upon hearing this news, half of St. Petersburg's literary world was abuzz with activity, and even some nobles and noble ladies inquired about the details.

During this time, Dostoevsky was filled with eager anticipation. After being separated for so long, it would be impossible for him not to miss Mikhail. Moreover, although Mikhail was far away in France and had many things to do, he still took the time to send Dostoevsky two letters to chat about literature and everyday life.

When Dostoevsky received the letter, he was deeply moved.

In addition, the young Dostoevsky couldn't help but imagine what kind of life Mikhail was living in France. If it was Mikhail, wouldn't he be eating, playing, sleeping, and gambling to his heart's content in Paris?
When will I, Dostoevsky, be able to live such a life?

After imagining Mikhail's life in France, Dostoevsky couldn't help but sigh at his recent predicament.

Unfortunately, it was still the same old problem. Although Mikhail's instructions before he left made it relatively smooth for him to publish new novels, his inspiration was always intermittent, and the few new novels he published did not cause much of a stir.

Of course, the main problem is still that he has no sense of proportion when it comes to spending money, which is why he's recently been asking his older brother for help again.
Another point worth mentioning is that Dostoevsky would still attend the Petrashevsky group's gatherings every now and then for the free books and refreshments. What made him feel most at ease there was that he would occasionally hear Mikhail's name.

However, at times, Dostoevsky would have a nameless anxiety.
But let's go back to the Panaev family gathering for now. Even though Dostoevsky had prepared himself mentally before going, he was still shocked when he arrived. It was packed with people!
Although Panayev's house is quite large, some guests had to retreat to the doorway to maintain a certain distance while talking, and even so, some of them still refused to leave.

Dostoevsky even saw Krajevsky smiling and saying something to Belinsky.
Dostoevsky: "?" You two, like Mikhail said, have decided to let bygones be bygones?
Of course, it was clear that Belinsky was somewhat bewildered and at a loss.
As the banquet progressed, someone soon raised a question:

"Mr. Belinsky, where is Mr. Mikhail now? Is he still in Paris preparing to write something new? Or has he really gone somewhere else? It seems we have received some inaccurate information."

When the question was raised, the lively scene suddenly fell silent, and under everyone's gaze, Belinsky replied somewhat awkwardly, "Mikhail has already left Paris for London."

Ok?
Why go to London?
Are you going to meet someone?
While everyone was puzzled, someone soon asked the question.

Unfortunately, Belinsky hadn't heard Mikhail mention any purpose in his actions, so he simply said, "I'm not entirely sure either."

Just as everyone was feeling somewhat disappointed, Belinsky opportunely added:

"But I heard from Turgenev that Mikhail felt France wasn't challenging enough, so he decided to go to England. And it seems Mikhail has already achieved some success there."

The people present were all bewildered: "?!?!"

This is exactly what we want to hear!
It has to be Turgenev!
Just as the atmosphere on the field was about to explode, Nekrasov, standing next to Belinsky, said at the opportune moment: "I propose that we toast Mikhail!"

As soon as he said that, many people in the room immediately raised their glasses, and with a loud "Hurrah!", the sound of clinking glasses and laughter suddenly erupted in Panayev's house!

"So the French literary world is nothing special after all!"

“Mr. Mikhail has achieved so much in just a short time in France. What if he stayed for more than ten years? The French literary world would be his!”

"It seems that Russian literature will one day surpass those Frenchmen!"

Belinsky, listening to the conversation on the field: "."

Is it possible that, for the time being, only Mikhail can do this?
However, given the enthusiastic atmosphere, Belinsky certainly couldn't say such a thing.

While others were enthusiastically discussing these matters, Nekrasov whispered to Belinsky about something more private: "Vesarion, we are already preparing a celebration and welcoming ceremony for Mikhail when he returns."

"Shouldn't such activities be reported to the Third Division?"

Belinsky looked over with some surprise.

"Yes, we tentatively raised the question and received a rather positive response."

At this point, Nekrasov asked, both excited and somewhat worried, "As far as I know, there seem to be some positive signals from higher up. What does Mikhail think about this?"

To put it simply, it's about whether Mikhail is willing to receive a government stipend, much like Gogol did, and accept subsidies from the royal family. In that case, there doesn't seem to be much of a problem.
“I asked Mikhail.”

Logically, this should be quite simple, but after recalling Mikhail's reaction, Belinsky slowly replied, "Mikhail just sighed, shook his head, and said nothing."

At this point, the two fell silent for a moment, then Nekrasov quickly perked up and said, "Let's trust Mikhail's judgment. I believe he will make the best choice. Does Mikhail have any other plans?"

"If I had to say, it would be the serialization of several novels that Turgenev had already written. I think they are very good works, but Mikhail's evaluation of these works is even higher than mine."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Nekrasov immediately became interested. Before he could ask any more questions, Dostoevsky, who had come with great effort, finally appeared beside them. After joining their conversation for a while, Dostoevsky couldn't help but look at Belinsky and ask:

“Vesarion, Mikhail, didn’t he create miracles at the French poker table? I don’t recall ever seeing such news in the newspapers.”

Belinsky: "?"

Strange perspective
"No."

After recalling for a moment, Belinsky shook his head and said, "Mikhail had a lot to do every day when he was in France, so I hardly ever heard of him at the poker table."

Furthermore, Mikhail stated that he would never play cards again, believing that people should devote more energy to their careers.

Dostoyevsky: “?”

really?
If I had his skills, I'd want to spend every day in the casino!

Just as Dostoevsky was feeling quite regretful and disheartened, the bright lights of the banquet gradually transformed into an oil lamp on Mikhail's desk.

Huh?
Why do my hands feel itchy for no reason?

(End of this chapter)