Chapter 61: Drama

When Belinsky was briefly summarizing in front of everyone, Mikhail, who had already felt a bit dry-mouthed from reading, naturally found a place to sit down and began gulping tea.

Unlike the limited supply at the landlord's, Mikhail could indeed drink his fill at Panayev's house, and the taste was far superior to what the landlord provided.

Of course, if one is to drink at the landlord's, one must drink, otherwise it would indeed be a bit of a loss...

During the tea break, Mikhail also glanced at the reactions of the various listeners; most wore broad smiles, and Turgenev was laughing so hard he was practically collapsing onto the sofa.

The hostess of this villa, Panayeva, was also laughing quite happily, which caused Nekrasov, who was already smiling, to unconsciously turn his gaze toward her and then reveal a smile of another meaning...

As for Belinsky's good friend, the gentle and kind Panayev, he was listening intently to what Belinsky was saying.

Nekrasov, you rascal...

Speaking of which, while Panayev is indeed a true man, he is also truly a good brother.

Although they experienced some twists and turns, Panayev indeed chose to forgive, and for the rest of his life remained Nekrasov's good comrade-in-arms.

But let their story be discussed later for now; after Belinsky briefly spoke with the crowd for a while, he quickly sat before Mikhail and, unable to restrain himself, took his hand and said:

"Dear Mikhail, although it is not the first time I have been shocked by you, I must say this time that you will contribute an immortal literary image to our Russian literature! Heaven knows how many such hypocritical, sycophantic, and opportunistic people exist in Russia today, yet such people often hold high positions; isn't that strange?

In my heart, it can almost be compared to Gogol's 'The Government Inspector'! If 'The Government Inspector' exposed the ugly faces of flattery among our Russian bureaucratic class, then this 'Chameleon' undoubtedly reveals how these gentlemen with a bit of power, under the influence of these people and our Russian system, learn by example and corrupt social morals!

Without the great chameleons, where would so many Ochumelovs come from?"

Mikhail: "."

If you tell me, you aren't allowed to write it so bluntly in the comments, okay!

Speaking of which, recently Belinsky has been exclusively favoring Mikhail; the reviews for every one of Mikhail's short stories have been personally written by Belinsky.

According to Belinsky's wife: "You simply do not know how much passion he has when writing reviews for you; he often paces back and forth in our not-so-large small room while writing, and from time to time says to me, 'God, how can he write so well?' When writing reviews for your novels, I feel this is the most pleasant period of his work."

One can hear that Belinsky was typing very happily.

But fortunately, on one hand due to the censorship system, and on the other because Belinsky truly did not wish to place Mikhail in an overly sharp position, therefore most of the time, he expressed his personal opinions in the reviews.

This time, obviously, Belinsky was still very interested in reviewing Mikhail's novel.

Meanwhile, Turgenev, who had been laughing for a long time, now leaned over and said: "A brilliant satirical novel! Mikhail, it would be a great pity not to adapt such a novel into a play; if it could be brought to the stage, I believe it would cause a sensation throughout St. Petersburg!

Even if placed in places like France or England, I believe it would certainly attract great attention. You know, I lived there for a few years; their art is very good, but gentlemen like Ochumelov are everywhere. Perhaps we can study together sometime and write a play?"

A play?

Mikhail actually had quite a few stored ideas in his mind, but exactly how to write them, perhaps he still needed to take time to learn.

Thinking of this, facing Turgenev's proposal, Mikhail naturally agreed.

And after spending this pleasant gathering at Panayev's house, Kraevsky, the publisher of 'The Contemporary', soon sent over his opinion; while Mikhail shook his head in disbelief, he naturally replied directly:

"That is truly a pity, Mr. Kraevsky; perhaps this novel indeed failed to meet the standards of 'The Contemporary', and I still need to continue working hard, therefore I have decided to send this novel to another magazine."

After Mikhail replied thus, before he could receive any further letters, Kraevsky quickly rushed to his door in a hurry; upon seeing Mikhail's living conditions, this gentleman first froze, then immediately grabbed Mikhail's hand and said affectionately:

"Dear Mikhail, your manuscript should not have been sent to another magazine yet, right? I rushed over immediately after receiving your letter; I have thought it over carefully, and perhaps our magazine should be more tolerant toward young people, and now seeing your situation, I immediately understand; I am willing to advance the manuscript fee to you directly!

So your manuscript really has not been sent to another magazine yet, right?"

Although he truly did not want to pay such a high fee, and indeed felt displeased in his heart because of Mikhail's novel, no matter what, one cannot go against the ruble.

Kraevsky could almost be certain that such a novel would absolutely be welcomed by the vast number of readers.

Thus, after receiving Mikhail's reply, seeing that the other party did not seem to be intimidated by his words, Kraevsky immediately took a carriage and rushed over.

It seems this is indeed a young man who is not easy to fool; he is far more shrewd than Belinsky and some of his friends.

However, although he rushed over very urgently, upon seeing where Mikhail lived, Kraevsky's waist, which he had originally prepared to bend slightly, straightened up considerably.

But upon seeing Mikhail look troubled and seemingly somewhat unwilling to agree, Kraevsky's straightened waist immediately bent a little bit.

"Alright, Mr. Kraevsky." Seeing that after some haggling the manuscript fee had increased slightly, Mikhail finally nodded and said: "Then this novel will continue to be published in 'The Contemporary'."

One must admit, this gentleman is truly very capable of haggling; fortunately, the value of this novel was sufficient; even though Kraevsky felt he had suffered a loss, he could only hold his nose and accept it.

And after obtaining this manuscript, Kraevsky was not vague at all; he immediately prepared to put this novel into the magazine to pull in another wave of subscriptions.

To be honest, although what Mikhail received was already not small, he still felt a bit of a loss, but fortunately he would soon be able to work for himself.

(End of this chapter)