[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia":3,"chapter-my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-49":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","My Life as a Literary Giant in Russia",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2317224,4531,"Chapter 49: The Dust Settles","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-49",49,"\u003Cp>Since it was a long-awaited reunion, Mikhail naturally spent a long, long time talking with his mother and sister, bringing up every single thing worth mentioning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke of the cherry orchard where he and Du Niya had often played as children, of how the neighbors’ lives had changed, and of those bittersweet yet hopeful times…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be honest, in today’s Russia, it is hard to hear many uplifting news stories; in this era, even though many people’s lives are already hard, they could at any moment grow even harder due to unforeseen accidents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it is not enough that life is hard—for many Russians, they not only suffer, but are acutely aware that they are suffering; in other words, they rarely numb themselves through it, but face their suffering with sincerity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like Russia’s vast serfs, even if their thinking is, to some degree, narrow-minded and even foolish, they are not ignorant of their condition; in just these past few years, the number of serf uprisings in Russia each year has reached thousands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harsh living and geographic conditions have, to some extent, shaped this nation’s character; the long winters and deep awareness of suffering have compressed volcanic emotions within the Slavs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In reality, this manifests as Eastern Orthodoxy being the most cold-hearted of Christian denominations, with alcoholism and violence rampant, and Russians—men and women alike—often possessing strong individuality, intense emotions, and acting without regard for consequences.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In literature, this emotion is even more pervasive; in *Quiet Flows the Don*, the people appear fearless of life or death, as if war, disease, birth, aging, sickness, and death were all ordinary matters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Other works like *War and Peace*, *Resurrection*, *Childhood*, and more—whether great figures or humble ones—all carry their own pains and misfortunes, constantly reflecting, yet after enduring countless hardships, what they ultimately gain seems only suffering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even when they turn to religious redemption, do their hearts truly find peace?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And who can say that the characters in Dostoevsky’s and Tolstoy’s works truly found happiness at their endings?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So what is truly bitter and humiliating is that this life does not end with reward for suffering, nor with the grand finale of an opera, but with death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the fate of most people in many eras.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, if they talked too long about reality, Mikhail’s mood and that of his mother and sister inevitably grew heavy; so when they had spoken enough, Mikhail promptly ended the topic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, it was a long-awaited reunion—let this joy last a little longer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for where his mother and sister should stay during this time, Mikhail quickly ran the numbers in his head and immediately pulled out twenty rubles and handed them over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be honest, Mikhail hasn’t earned much from writing so far, but he has been frugal, and recently joined an organization, saving much on food, and has won a fair amount playing cards with Belinsky and others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So as he handed over the money, Mikhail smiled calmly and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mother, Du Niya, take this money. I know a decent inn—stay there for now. If you need anything else, tell me; I have plenty more.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah, besides continuing to write, I’ve got Dmitri’s reserve fund, Nadezhda Panayev’s reserve fund, Turgenev’s limited-edition date reserve fund, Belinsky and Nekrasov… forget it, they’re all broke guys; they don’t count as reserve funds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Mikhail was calculating this, his mother looked delighted and immediately believed him, but his sister Du Niya gave him a skeptical glance and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Brother, do you really have that much money?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, I’m rich,” Mikhail’s eyelid twitched slightly. “Give me some time—I could buy half of Shengbidebao!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, alright,” the quiet young woman sighed, glancing at her brother, who had suddenly become prone to grandiose talk. “You’re an adult now. I hope you have a clear plan for your finances—or else you might need someone to manage them for you. If you don’t have anyone, I’m willing to do it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mikhail: “………”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you managed my finances, my underpants would be on full display…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Got it, we’ll talk about it later,” he laughed it off, dodging the issue. Soon, this three-year reunion quietly ended in a warm atmosphere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Pyotr Petrovich, mentioned several times by Mikhail and his family, wandered the streets with an indescribable mood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More precisely, he doubted whether what he had seen and heard a few days ago was real.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since he had witnessed that scene at Mikhail’s and written those words in his letter to Plyushchikha, Pyotr Petrovich could not avoid paying attention to *The Fatherland Notes*.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So on the day the latest issue was released, the elderly gentleman hurried to a nearby bookstore to investigate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had intended to check whether Mikhail’s name appeared in the magazine, but due to the overwhelming crowd, he instead heard that hated name from others in the store:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is there a new piece by Mikhail Romanovich?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes! I’ve been waiting for it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After listening to the two stories with growing irritation among the youths, though Pyotr Petrovich found them utterly abysmal, seeing the youths’ enthusiastic reactions, his heart sank to the bottom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how bad he thought they were, with these clueless Mao Touxiaozi cheering them on, everything he wrote in his letter instantly became invalid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their family’s financial situation would soon improve; his words in the letter would now provoke fierce resentment from the family, especially with the young writer’s open opposition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, Pyotr Petrovich felt his hope of finding a refined, adoring young woman was almost certainly doomed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had chosen the timing perfectly; the girl fully met his criteria—how had it suddenly turned like this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As some newspapers had cursed, these days anyone dares to write!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he had spent the past two days complaining inwardly and to acquaintances, and still felt bitter, when Mikhail’s family began renegotiating the matter, faced with Plyushchikha’s sudden firmness and Mikhail’s deep black eyes, Pyotr Petrovich softened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And when Mikhail clearly listed his accomplishments and other reasons, even though Pyotr Petrovich was generous with himself and skilled at self-justification, he could only fall silent, humiliated, and quietly broke off the engagement—merely an oral promise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Further entanglement was pointless; better to preserve the last shred of dignity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1043,"2026-06-20T14:41:53.633Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","8532a34cabbfec0cbe2337d7295b6447ff2c777a6b70e3dd71ccdc5b7186b49c","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-50","my-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-chapter-48",105,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-life-as-a-literary-giant-in-russia-cover.jpg"]