I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 83 About Love
When it comes to love, people from different countries always have different understandings, and sometimes, the concept of love in some places may seem confusing to people in other places.

Marquez's "Love in the Time of Cholera" is a typical example. To put it simply, this book is about a rich girl and a poor boy who were unable to be together when they were young, and then the rich girl married a doctor. Many years later, the doctor died, and the rich girl and the poor boy became old men and women.

Then, after years of hard work, the poor boy really became rich, but in the process, he slept with countless people and kept many mistresses. After the doctor died, he appeared in front of the rich lady again and declared his unchanging love to her.

In the end they did get together, and the two had an awkward love affair on the boat.

It does sound a bit abstract, but it undoubtedly reflects to a certain extent the unique concept of love in Latin America.

By the way, any famous work will probably be very abstract if you only read the outline, because they often describe a unique or even extreme experience. It is in this uniqueness and extremeness that the more complex aspects of human nature can be revealed.

As for the book "Love in the Time of Cholera", Mikhail still remembers its beginning vividly:
"Inevitably, the smell of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of obstructed love."

As for Russia, to be honest, it often makes people feel more abstract, probably because it is an extreme emotional experience in an extreme environment. In short, in the works of many Russian writers, love is always swift and hopeless.

Like the unrequited love in Laotze's "Poor People" and "White Nights", the unwavering loyalty of the heroine to the hero in "Crime and Punishment", and like the letter from Pasternak to Tsvetaeva:

"You are my absolute, a fiery, embodied conception from head to toe, just like me, an incredible reward for my birth and my wanderings, my faith in God and my humiliation."

Having said so much, in fact, it is generally Mikhail's speculation about the behavior of the general's daughter. Otherwise, if he had only met her once and written a few letters to her, how could he sponsor her and take the initiative to help her?
Of course, there might be other reasons. Although it was somewhat unexpected, Mikhail had already agreed at this point, thinking about the two or three thousand rubles that he might save. But since it was a salon or a party, he might as well bring Turgenev and Dostoevsky along, since they just happened to like this kind of occasion.

However, their purpose was far from being as pure as Mikhail's. One of them was bragging and making friends with important people, and the other was showing off and making friends with important people. These two guys...
Besides, Mikhail has almost been paying off his debts now. He has paid back the money for Tu Ge's clothes in another way, but Mikhail still kept the clothes that were of good taste, waiting to wear them again on similar occasions.

So after sending the reply letter, Mikhail wrote down the time and place mentioned in the letter and quickly notified Lao Tu and Lao Tu.

Turgenev agreed very readily. Normally, he was quite reliable, but he was often careless and would forget things that had been emphasized repeatedly, so it would be best to arrest him on the spot and watch him do his work.

Belinsky has been doing this recently. He even said that he attached much more importance to the launch of a new magazine than Mikhail and others. On the one hand, he was busy dealing with the articles on hand, and on the other hand, he was urging his friends to submit new manuscripts.

This can be seen from the letter he sent to Herzen in Moscow:
"The magazine 'Contemporary Man', which we've taken over, is about to launch. Dostoevsky has promised to contribute a novella, and Turgenev a novella and a long poem. I'd like to ask Maikov to write a poem. Now I'm coming to you: Submit a novella, or I'll kill you!"

Because he was very anxious, Turgenev was almost annoyed by the nagging recently, so he had to speed up his progress.

As for the recently popular Dostoyevsky, although he was very interested in the salon party, he asked cautiously before agreeing, "So, Mikhail, there won't be any card games, right? You know, I've never had much interest in gambling games like that."

The reason for this, of course, is that Mikhail wants to prevent Lao Tuo from showing off too much and being disliked by others, and to help him quit gambling. So these days, whenever there is a party, Mikhail almost always drags Lao Tuo along to play for a while.

As for the results.
It is basically what Lao Tuo said in his letter:
"Oh my God! Why is Mikhail always playing cards? And is there really anyone who can beat him? In my opinion, not even the devil can do it! He seems to be able to remember all the cards. He knows the cards in your hand better than you do!

The amount we played was not large, we just treated it as a pastime, but as we played, I found that we had become Mikhail's pastime!

Why does a saintly person love playing cards so much? I don't want to play with him anymore. Brother, I'm telling you the truth, the sight of this game gives me a headache now. I won't play it anymore.
No, I won’t play with him anymore.”

Of course, Mikhail didn't know about the existence of this letter, so when he heard Lao Tuo say such words, Mikhail smiled with relief. Good, good, my training! Desensitization plan! Finally, there is some effect.
Mikhail was happy, but of course he shook his head and said:
"Don't worry, there won't be such a link. We are here to exchange literature and art."

"it is good."

After hearing this answer, although the young Dostoevsky was a little skeptical, he finally agreed.

So soon, when the time came, Mikhail and his group walked towards a certain place with their own destinations.
While Mikhail and his group were walking on the road, on the other side, like last time, the young girl Nadya, wearing a white dress decorated with vines and moss patterns, was spraying some fresh and elegant perfume imported from France on herself.

One of her companions, Polina, was standing next to her, constantly asking the same question: "Dear Nadya, will the poet really come today? I love his poetry very much, and I wonder if I will have the chance to hear him read it in person. So will he really come?"

Listening to her female companion asking questions over and over again, Nadia, who was a little nervous, also had a very subtle feeling in her heart.

In order to avoid unnecessary things, she invited Mikhail to an ordinary salon. In such an occasion, it was normal for the two of them to have a brief chat.

However, because of the circle she attended, the salons she attended did have more children of nobles. Some of them were so prestigious that even her general father had to put aside his usual dignity and ask about their recent situation in a friendly manner.

Originally, it was just a salon held for the sake of literary and artistic interests, but when others learned that she seemed to be able to invite Mikhail, their reactions suddenly became enthusiastic, and they asked her more than once:
"Will he really come? I don't think I've ever seen him at a party like this before."

"His poetry is so moving, and so are his novels, and I have always felt a deep sympathy for his characters."

"Is it really him? The noble poet who is reluctant to show his face?"

Because they have more or less similar ideas, Nadya's friends have similar views on Mikhail's novels, and the more they pay attention to him, the stronger their curiosity about Mikhail becomes.

But up to now, this gentleman seemed to have rarely been to the salons of famous figures in St. Petersburg, but now he was willing to come to their salon at the invitation of his companions?
This more or less made the noble young masters and young ladies in the salon feel a little honored.

As a result, they surrounded Nadia for a long time and asked a lot of questions.

However, most of the questions were about Mikhail's poems and novels and his future creative plans. As for Nadya, she would rather talk about Mikhail's personality and what he often does in daily life.

The former was an opportunity, but that was the love for literature and should not be transferred to people. The latter was the key factor that made Nadya exchange letters with the other party and feel very happy.

Nadia has seen many writers and poets who only talk about lofty ideals or philosophy or art.

While Nadya was dealing with the questions from her female companions, a group of people had quietly appeared in the salon. When everyone reacted and looked around, they basically didn't need to introduce themselves. Everyone looked at the quiet young man with black eyes and subconsciously read his name in their hearts.

"Mikhail."

Nadya called out, then hurried forward with her skirt lifted under everyone's gaze. When she reached Mikhail, she greeted him without blinking, "It's been a long time since I last saw you. How are you?"

"I'm very good."

Feeling the frank and happy look in the young girl's eyes, Mikhail, who was Xiao Chunan, almost collapsed and almost took a step back, but in the end, Mikhail still smiled and greeted:

"What about you?"

"I am well too, but there is something worth telling which I forgot to put in the letter."

Smiling brightly, the young girl did not forget Lao Tu and Lao Tuo beside her. After greeting them and introducing Mikhail to everyone, she found an opportunity to talk to Mikhail.

Looking at this scene, Turgenev, who was still recovering from his illness, sighed to Dostoyevsky: "Alas! I used to be like Mikhail! But now I seem to be almost the same."

Similarly, Dostoyevsky, who still had a very good impression of Turgenev, replied: "I have recently encountered a similar situation, but I am not as calm as my dear Mikhail. As Vissarion said, there is much to learn from Mikhail."

(End of this chapter)