If Mikhail truly develops well in the future, then later historians and literary enthusiasts will likely talk about and commemorate his first meeting with Belinsky as a historic moment, even deeply longing for such a moment, wishing they could travel back in time to speak directly with these two.
Unfortunately, however, the meeting between Mikhail and Belinsky was far from solemn; it could even be described as completely crude.
After all, as mentioned before, Belinsky was a pauper.
Coincidentally, Mikhail was also a pauper.
As for Nekrasov, although he would strike it rich later, for now, he was still a pauper.
Three paupers gathering together in today's Russia—one can imagine what that looked like without even thinking.
Three worn-out coats, three unkempt men, cheap taverns and alcohol, laughing and shoving each other around... Of course, being men of culture after all, it wasn't appropriate to discuss matters in a place that was too noisy. So, Nekrasov steeled himself and ultimately set the location at a cafe. Belinsky would go after finishing his current work, while Nekrasov went in person to invite Mikhail.
Now, Nekrasov had already brought Mikhail to the cafe, and after Mikhail scanned the room, his gaze finally fell upon the man sitting in the corner, lost in thought.
It was evident that the man had seemingly made a solemn effort to tidy himself up before coming, yet one could still see from certain details that his economic situation was indeed mediocre.
And that face, currently deep in thought, was at least an eighty percent match for the portraits Gu Gu had seen in the past.
So, was he really seeing a living Belinsky?
Feeling a brief surge of excitement, Mikhail quickly relaxed and followed Nekrasov toward the man.
Seemingly hearing the movement, the previously pensive Belinsky suddenly snapped out of it and looked toward Mikhail and the others. With just one glance, Belinsky hurriedly stood up, and the heavy contemplation that had been on his face instantly transformed into a sort of fire.
This ball of fire walked toward Mikhail just like that.
Mikhail did not just stand there either; he also took a step forward, and then their hands gripped each other firmly.
"Mikhail Romanovich Raskolnikov."
"Visarion Grigoryevich Belinsky."
Before Mikhail could even open his mouth to express his admiration for this current leader of the literary world, Belinsky, whose face clearly shone with the glow of excitement, spoke first:
"Young man, a fine young man! Your writing is simply too good! This is exactly the kind of work I want to see in the Russian literary world—works that are connected to the flesh and blood of the Russian land with a certain latent rhythm!"
"You flatter me."
Before Mikhail could say another humble word, the other man continued:
"I can't wait to write a review for you! I have so much I want to say! Misery is excellent, and vanka pierced my heart even more; no one could fail to shed tears for him, even though the reality of Russia today is even heavier than fiction."
Clearly, this outstanding critic had no airs of a literary leader at all, pulling Mikhail into a non-stop conversation. It was only after a long time that the three of them officially sat down. Once seated, after expressing his appreciation for Mikhail and his expectations for his future once more, Belinsky spoke about the arrangements for these two manuscripts:
"Next month, how about next month? I will do my best to write my review, and then we will publish them together in Notes of the Fatherland.
The current press censorship is very strict, but these two works of yours should be fine. As long as they don't involve the Tsar, ministers, and those noble lords, as for how the Russian people are—ha! They don't have time to care about that."
"I very much look forward to your review. I used to read your articles in magazines often; there are no better reviews than yours."
This wasn't just polite talk; judging by the memories in his mind, Mikhail had read plenty of such things. When he reached an emotional part, he would discuss it passionately with his companions. Once, because he spoke too obliviously, he nearly got hauled off to the police station to receive a beating with fists the size of potatoes.
"But Dear Mikhail, there is something I must tell you," Belinsky said, showing a kind of generosity after his initial enthusiasm. "What you write is very likely to be attacked by the Conservatives, just like Gogol; simply because he wrote about social reality, he has been constantly subjected to attacks and slander.
I have been defending him vigorously from start to finish, but he has still been greatly affected and often feels confused."
Regarding who Gogol was, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Dostoyevsky had all once said: "We all came out from under Gogol's the overcoat."
Undoubtedly, Gogol inherited the realist tradition originating from Pushkin and further developed it. While deeply influencing Russian Writers, he also had an extremely profound impact on another great literary giant a century later.
As for who this great literary giant was, let's just say that Gogol has a short story titled Diary of a Madman.
And current Gogol is at the height of his fame in the Russian literary world. He only just published his masterpiece dead souls last year, which directly shocked the whole of Russia.
But at the same time, overwhelming controversy and criticism came rushing at him. Under such pressure, Gogol's mental state could be described as worrying.
The reason for this was, naturally, that Gogol profoundly satirized Russia's serfdom, the bureaucratic system, and many typical landlords who were vulgar, ridiculous, and pathetic in dead souls.
When you satirize the entire upper class of Russia in one go, how could things end well?
But then again, Mikhail naturally knew what he was doing with these two articles he had written. They were mostly just depicting the reality of the people at the bottom, far from reaching the level of political commentary.
Therefore, in this situation where he was almost out of food, what was there to fear?
Let there be some controversy; can a Writer who isn't controversial in this era even be called a Writer?!
That's called a lapdog at the Tsar's feet!
Precisely because he knew what he was doing, Mikhail naturally appeared calm and unhurried when facing Belinsky's reminders and concerns. He even gave a free and easy smile, looked at Belinsky and the young Nekrasov, and said quite solemnly:
"Rest assured, Vissarion Grigoryevich, I don't care about those things.
Undoubtedly, what we are doing is the future of Russian literature!
Even if we encounter temporary setbacks and controversy, history will still deliver the most just verdict for us!"