Chapter 80: Reaching Out to Belinsky

When the time once again came for the gathering at Panaev's house, Mikhail drank only a simple cup of tea with his landlady Pavlovna before heading out, and as he passed places like cafés, Mikhail seemed to still hear discussions about the works in the St. Petersburg Miscellany.

Mikhail did not hear clearly which specific work was being discussed, but he indeed saw several young people gathered together, who then abruptly lifted their heads toward the somewhat gray and dusty sun of St. Petersburg during this period and passionately recited verses:

"I came into this world to see the sun,

And once the daylight extinguishes,

I will still sing... I will sing praises to the sun

Until the final moments of my life!"

Mikhail, feeling he often witnessed such scenes: "."

It must be said that Mikhail's novels still garnered much discussion, but his poetry seemed to spread even wider during this period, especially among the upper class, whose level of discussion regarding Mikhail's poetry far exceeded that of his novels.

If forced to explain this phenomenon, Mikhail could understand it, after all, some clues could be gleaned from Nadezhda's letter:

"Here I warmly congratulate you; the St. Petersburg Miscellany published by you and your friends is now being discussed everywhere, and I have heard it mentioned many times within our own circle. Moreover, people seem not to buy just one copy; one can tell they are very interested in your limited collector's editions, seemingly regarding them as a symbol of status.

They say: 'We must distinguish ourselves from those mediocre buyers, for where do some people possess such love for reading and good upbringing as we do?'

I have also promoted this miscellany within my circle; this collection is truly excellent and ought to be known by more people. Additionally, I should remind you that you could appropriately raise the price of the collector's edition slightly; how about fifty rubles? I feel someone in our circle would be willing to pay it; for them, it amounts to nothing, and they might even feel proud because of it!"

Mikhail upon reading this: "."

Fifty rubles, my goodness; a casual remark from the rich is a price that the extreme limits of a poor person's imagination cannot even reach.

However, this is indeed a good idea, but Mikhail is ultimately a conscientious publisher, not so black-hearted, so setting it at forty-nine rubles and ninety-nine kopecks might be about right.

If one must say, launching a Supreme Edition series afterward does not seem impossible either?

Let us temporarily return to the reply letter:

"I greatly love both the novels and poetry in this miscellany of yours, and so does my father; regarding your novel, he said: 'What a fine, wisdom-filled novel this is; it admonishes us that no matter when, we must always be a strong person and never be too cowardly.

Ordinary people have no future, and a person cowardly to such a degree is unworthy of sympathy!'

I do not agree with his opinion and even worry that such views might make you uncomfortable, but since you mentioned wanting to hear them, I will write them down anyway, hoping this will not anger you.

As for your poetry, I dare assert that half of upper society is chanting it; I have heard someone reciting this poem at banquets more than once, and each time after reciting it, they refused to speak the author's name, merely puffing out their chests amidst everyone's guesses and heated discussions.

Whenever this happens, I step forward to tell them that the author of this poem is Mikhail, a respected writer and poet, whereupon the person reciting the poem mutters and dares not speak further.

That was the situation at the beginning; I believe by now everyone knows who the author truly is. My father loves this poem very much; he always recites it loudly before us, and he even says that if given the opportunity, he must personally recite this poem to the Emperor!"

Mikhail: "???"

Please, no such thing...

Speaking of which, the General seems to have started fantasizing as well, imagining he could meet the Emperor, win the Emperor's favor, and advance further.

In short, this Miss's letter was roughly as stated above; one could see she was genuinely happy for Mikhail's success, and while mentioning these matters, she also seemed to be asking Mikhail why he rarely attended various salons and gatherings, such that now many people are very familiar with Mikhail's name yet have never managed to meet him in person.

To this, Mikhail could only say keep a low profile, keep a low profile; it is better for a person to be somewhat low-key.

Nevertheless, sooner or later, Mikhail would probably need to become more active, after all, having more meetings and interactions with people might greatly help the endeavors they plan to undertake next.

Returning to the main topic, Mikhail spent considerable time on the road, so by the time he arrived at Panaev's house, the others had mostly already taken their seats.

Seeing Mikhail's arrival, the crowd, who had recently witnessed a certain craze and heard certain news, all looked over at this moment and spoke with smiles:

"Look, our millionaire has arrived! I have heard people say that as soon as the St. Petersburg Miscellany appeared in bookstores or cafés, it sold out completely! Not a single copy remained! Now everyone feels proud to possess a copy of the St. Petersburg Miscellany."

"Mikhail, how many copies did you and Nikolai print? At the start, I even felt that selling five hundred copies might not be possible; now I see I was greatly mistaken! Mikhail, worthy of you! I should have trusted your judgment!"

"See, I said long ago that Mikhail and Nikolai's venture would surely succeed!"

"Sergei, initially you were the loudest in opposition! Look, an Ochumelov has appeared in our group!"

"It is said the collector's editions have not even gone on sale yet; that must be a huge sum of money! I estimate that for quite a long time coming, Mikhail and Nikolai will no longer need to worry about money."

Listening to these voices, Nekrasov, already seated, wore a beaming smile, occasionally glancing in a certain direction, while Mikhail rather calmly waved his hand and sat down with a smile amidst the crowd's exclamations of awe.

For him, the success of this matter was almost expected, but for the others present, Mikhail's success could simply be called a miracle.

After all, who would dare, while relying on manuscript fees for a living, to put up all their assets, or even incur a large debt, to do something uncertain? The most crucial point is that he succeeded!

Now when people in the circle speak of Mikhail, it is no longer just about his moving novels and poetry, but also about his keen insight and astonishing intellect!

After sitting down, Mikhail still looked toward Nekrasov and asked about the recent sales situation of the miscellany.

This aspect had always been Nekrasov's responsibility, to which Nekrasov replied excitedly:

"Over three thousand copies have already been sold! I estimate that by next week at the latest, our miscellany will be completely sold out! By then, we can roughly launch the collector's edition. Mikhail, our miscellany is an unprecedented success; no such example exists before us!"

"Yes, we must find a time to celebrate properly."

After laughing along with Nekrasov for a long while, Mikhail continued to ask: "So when will the money arrive?"

"Barring any accidents, the first payment should be arriving soon. What's wrong? Do you have an urgent need? Once this money reaches my hands, I will immediately give it to you."

"I am not in a hurry, but perhaps we should first give a sum to dear Vissarion."

Having said this with a smile, Mikhail looked toward Belinsky, who was not far away speaking with someone else.

Speaking of the novel "The Coward," Belinsky could truly relate deeply to it and had been agitated by this novel for a long time, after all, his situation might be even worse than that of the young lady in the story.

Simply because Kraevsky often treated Belinsky like a beast of burden; exploiting Belinsky's passion for work, he sent him not only important books but also pamphlets such as literacy primers and children's grammar books, demanding reviews for all of them.

During the most intense periods, Belinsky had to write for sixteen hours a day, almost swelling his hands from writing.

But after Belinsky realized this exploitation, due to his marriage and his wife's pregnancy, he could only endure it for the time being.

However, after reading the novel "The Coward," besides being agitated, Belinsky also deeply reflected on the weak parts within himself, and perhaps would soon take action.

But before he took action, Mikhail had already walked toward him, and as if sensing something, Belinsky craned his neck to look, then saw Mikhail, as if wrapped in sunlight, walking toward him.

Through the conversations at the previous two gatherings, Belinsky had basically understood what Mikhail planned to do next, but perhaps because the final sales volume and profits of the miscellany had not yet been finalized, the several of them had not yet completely clarified this matter.

But now...

Belinsky's heart began to beat uncontrollably, so much so that at this moment he remained utterly motionless, unable to do anything.

And perhaps he did not need to do anything; after Mikhail walked straight over, he immediately extended his hand and stated directly:

"Dear Vissarion, let us begin the matter of publishing the new magazine; we all hope you will serve as editor-in-chief; this task requires no one but you. And just as we said before, eight thousand rubles a year, not a single kopek less."

"What else can I say?"

His body trembled once, and Belinsky grasped Mikhail's hand, saying, "For our common cause."

(End of this chapter)