Chapter 71: I, Mikhail, Really Am Not a Gambler

Regarding why Old Tuo is a gambler, the reasons are actually quite complex when explained in detail, but if we only speak of the early causes, they can be simply summarized.

Roughly speaking, during Old Tuo's childhood, although his family counted as a minor noble house, their financial situation was not actually wealthy; moreover, the mother he loved and revered died early, and his father was a classic alcoholic. Under this classic Russian opening, namely a repressive family environment, Old Tuo's personality became withdrawn, and to some extent, he also became a bit depressed.

And once a person grows up for a long time in a repressive environment, if they suddenly gain great freedom, then more or less they may start to let themselves go.

Old Tuo was roughly like this; although his family circumstances were average, once he entered university, he began to care about food and clothing, and possessed a great sense of life's pleasures. He danced social dances like the mazurka quite well, to the extent that he constantly wrote letters asking his family for money.

After his father died, Old Tuo's flaw not only did not restrain itself, but seemed to have a trend of intensifying.

In this aspect, it might also be due to the so-called circle problem; in the upper-class literary and artistic circle of St. Petersburg where Old Tuo mingled, there were very many people who were often either rich or noble, focusing on treating money like dung and living for the moment.

Although Old Tuo's family was a minor noble house, compared to these people, it was still not authentic enough; and playing with this group, it would be strange if he didn't go broke.

At the same time, Old Tuo was also influenced by Romanticism; the heroic figures in Romantic works were usually unrestrained, enthusiastic about adventure, duels, and of course, gambling. Therefore, in his youth, Dostoevsky had already shown a fanatical obsession with cards and roulette.

This led to the fact that although he inherited quite a lot of estate from his father, in the end, he almost advanced all the more than a thousand rubles he inherited from his father's estate, and then lost it all at the gambling table.

And in front of such a gambler, saying words similar to "going all-in is wisdom," Mikhail was truly so anxious that he paced around in circles, wishing he could turn back time and take back the words he had just spoken.

It's over; if this guy Old Tuo writes his memoirs in the future and blames his gambling addiction on me, what should I do?!

Thinking of this, looking at Old Tuo who seemed to be lost in thought, Mikhail hurriedly issued a disclaimer: "Of course, I am speaking of extremely rare cases. In most cases, absolutely do not do such things."

"Mikhail, why did you suddenly change your tune?" It seemed that they were used to Mikhail's very calm and confident tone in daily life; now that Mikhail was slightly panicked, the people present really felt a bit unaccustomed.

To be honest, at the very beginning, these people really did not look favorably on this business; although because of Belinsky, the cost of Nekrasov's anthology had been compressed to a very low level, but in today's Russia, due to well-known reasons, the cultural cause certainly could not be called prosperous.

Under the condition that the market was still unclear, very few people really dared to place heavy bets on this.

Especially since the money Mikhail used was not idle funds, but a sum pieced together bit by bit; in the eyes of many, this looked even more crazy.

Even for those who disliked this young man's creations, they were just waiting to see this low-status young man crushed by debt, and then never be able to turn over again.

They felt that by that time, the Russian literary world could truly stop this evil wind and return to the right track.

And the people in Belinsky's circle, although they would not have such a Toxic idea, it was true that they did not look favorably on it.

But as time passed, for some reason, when they saw that Mikhail was even as steady as an old dog, and when talking about this matter, he was always calm and indifferent, as if those debts were not on his head at all, they were involuntarily infected by Mikhail's such calm temperament.

By now, their lack of confidence seemed to have started to waver; after truly witnessing the result of this matter, their understanding of Mikhail might undergo a new change.

But at this very moment, such a Mikhail was actually panicked!

And he was panicked while killing everyone on the card table!

Is this right?

So someone immediately asked: "Why did you suddenly lose your confidence? As for the extremely rare cases you mentioned, I do not think what you are doing right now has anything very unique; in fact, I think you are conducting a high-stakes gamble."

Hearing the words "high-stakes gamble," Dostoevsky's eyes, which were originally somewhat confused, suddenly lit up, and he immediately prepared to go to Nekrasov first to ask about the general situation.

Mikhail, seeing Dostoevsky's reaction: "..."

Fine, let's talk about it slowly later.

Sighing, Mikhail, who was slightly troubled, could only temporarily put this matter aside and redirect his attention back to the card table before him:

"Alright, I won."

Seeing Mikhail suddenly say such a thing, the crowd who had been curiously waiting for Mikhail's answer immediately began to wail:

"God, when did you win? I didn't feel anything at all!"

"Don't make me sit here anymore; let the Devil come! The Devil can surely defeat Mikhail!"

"I simply dare not count exactly how much money I've lost to you during this time. Look at Mikhail; now as long as you are here, Vissarion would rather deal with Mr. Kraevsky than sit in front of you!"

Facing these wails, Mikhail was already long accustomed to them; therefore, he said nothing, only shaking his head to signal these people to quickly pay up.

To be honest, winning too much is not good; it really will win you out of friends, but sometimes, it is indeed not that Mikhail can choose not to win.

While Mikhail continued to play cards, the young Dostoevsky had already arrived at Belinsky and Nekrasov's side.

Normally speaking, actually, when Dostoevsky arrived, Belinsky should have introduced him to everyone.

But unfortunately, before Dostoevsky arrived, Mikhail had also just arrived not long ago; this caused the attention of many present to be focused on Mikhail first. At such a time, requiring them all to put down their current tasks and look at Dostoevsky would actually be somewhat inappropriate.

So let's just wait a little while; after the atmosphere, which became slightly lively due to Mikhail's arrival, calms down, then introduce Dostoevsky to everyone.

For now, it is good to let this young man, who seems very nervous and shy, first adapt to the atmosphere of this gathering.

Belinsky and Nekrasov had roughly this idea, but Dostoevsky seemed to have only stayed there for a moment, and then walked back towards them.

(End of this chapter)