dead souls, imperial envoy

Chapter 42 Dead Souls (42)
Chichikov listened intently to his master's talk, just like listening to a bird of paradise singing.His eyes were shining with envy, and his face showed the sweetness in his heart. It seemed that he intended to listen to it all the time.

"Konstantin! It's time to get up." The hostess finished speaking and stood up from the chair.Platonov got up, Kostanjoglo got up, Chichikov got up, though he still wanted to sit and listen.He stretched out his arm like a beam again, and walked out of the restaurant with his arms around the hostess.Only his head was no longer tilted gracefully to one side, nor was his movement quick, because his mind was full of really important thoughts.

"No matter what you say, I'm still bored," Platonov said as he walked behind them.The host thought to himself: "This visitor is a very shrewd person. He speaks elegantly, and he doesn't look like a glib guy." After thinking this way, he felt even happier, as if he felt the warmth in his own words, and he seemed lucky to have found someone to listen to. A person who receives wise advice.

They walked into a small cozy room, with some small candles burning, and a glass door instead of a window on the balcony. Chichikov felt a comfort he had never felt in a long time, as if he had returned after a long wandering. At home, he got his wish for the result of wandering, said "enough", and lost the walking stick on which he relied on to walk.This comfort was given to him by a wise discourse delivered by his master.All men have heard words that are more dear to him than any other.It usually happens like this: In the most remote backcountry, in the most desolate wild village, you meet a person by chance, and his heartfelt words will make you forget yourself, the anguish and guest of the journey. The filth of the store, forgetting the stupid, stupid, intriguing upper class of today.A night spent in this way will be deeply imprinted in your heart, and you will never forget it forever. You will remember everything clearly: who was there at that time, who was standing there, what was in your hand; Even all kinds of small decorations in the house will be remembered.Chichikov also remembered everything about that night in his heart: the warm little room with simple furnishings, the simple and honest expression on the face of the wise master, the amber-encrusted cigarette holder handed to Platonov the pipe, the smoke that Platonov blew into Yarb's fat face, the sniffing of Yarb's nose, the voice and smile of the beautiful mistress who kept saying "Come on, don't mess with it," He will never forget the festive candles, the crickets in the corner, the glass door, the starry sky nestled on the treetops outside the door, and the cry of nightingales deep in the woods. "Your words enlighten me, my lord Konstantin Fyodorovitch," said Chichikov, "and I dare say there is no one as intelligent as you in the whole country."

Kostanjoglo smiled and said: "No, Pavel Ivanovich, if you are looking for a wise man, we have one here, and he is really called 'the wise man', He's better than me."

"Who is this?" Chichikov asked in surprise.

"It's our tax collector Murazov."

"I've heard of this man!" cried Chichikov.

"Don't talk about managing a manor, this person can manage a country. If I have a country, I will immediately appoint him as the Minister of Finance."

"I've heard of him. People keep him a secret. They say he's made ten million."

"It's only 1000 million! It's over 4000 million. Soon half of Russia will be his."

"What are you talking about!" Chichikov exclaimed, dumbfounded.

"It must be. His assets are growing at an unbelievable rate. This is what everyone has seen. Only a few hundred thousand people are slow to get rich; Everything will be doubled or tripled. His scope is too wide. There is no competitor with him. No one can compete with him. Buying things is as much as you pay, and no one dares to compete with him."

Chichikov was dumbfounded, staring into Kostanjoglo's eyes, breathless with surprise.After regaining his composure a little, he said: "I can't imagine! It's amazing! When people observe a small beetle, they will be deeply moved by the wisdom of God: it seems incredible to me that a mortal should have such a huge sum of money! Permit me to inquire: Was there some ill-handed way to begin with such a sum of money?"

"It is completely in an unquestionable way, using the most legitimate means."

"I don't believe it, dear sir, forgive me, I don't believe it. It's possible if it's a few thousand yuan, tens of millions..."

"On the contrary, it is very difficult to use a few thousand dollars without bad means, but it is very easy to have tens of millions. A rich man with tens of millions does not have to go wrong: he takes the straight road and takes whatever he encounters! No one else can get it. "

"I can't imagine! The most unimaginable thing is that it all started with a kopek!"

"Of course, this is the law of the development of things." Costanjoglo said, "If someone is born with millions of property and grows up with these properties, then he will not be rich, and he will be infected. There are so many bad habits! So you have to start from the beginning, not from the middle. Start with a kopeck, start from the bottom, start from the bottom. Only from the bottom can you know whether the world is warm or not. , you will be able to behave in the world in the future. Only when you have personally tried all kinds of tastes, understand that every penny is not easy to come by, and endure all the hardships, then you will be smart, and you will not make mistakes and stumble in what you do in the future. Understand , this is the truth. You have to start from the beginning, not from the middle. If someone told me: "Lend me a hundred thousand, I will be rich immediately." It will succeed. Start with a kopeck."

"Then I shall get rich," said Chichikov, "because I started from nothing."

He was talking about dead serfs.

"Konstantin, it's time to put Pavel Ivanovich to rest," said the hostess, "you're going on forever."

"You will be rich," said Costanjoglo, ignoring the hostess. "The gold will flow to you like a river. You will have nowhere to put the money you earn."

Chichikov sat there as if possessed, with golden dreams flashing through his mind.

"Really, Konstantin, it's time for Pavel Ivanovich to rest."

"What's the matter with you? If you're sleepy, go back to sleep by yourself!" The master stopped himself after speaking, because Platonov's snoring sounded, and then Albu let out a louder snore snoring.In the distance, the sound of a watchman beating a pig iron block could be heard vaguely.It's already midnight.Costanjoglo saw that he should indeed be asleep.We all said goodnight to each other, and each left, and immediately went back to sleep.

Chichikov alone remained awake.His mind was particularly hyperactive.He wondered how he could become a landowner like Costanjoglo.After listening to the master's words, everything became clear.The possibility of getting rich is already very obvious.The difficult task of running and managing a farm was now so simple that he thought he was born with it, and he began to think seriously about buying a real manor instead of a fictional one.He decided to use the money he got from mortgaging dead serfs to buy a real manor.He was imagining that he was diligently managing his manor according to the teachings of Costanjoglo, never using new things until he had thoroughly understood the old things; he had to check every situation for himself, to know all the serfs, To get rid of all kinds of bad hobbies, we must devote ourselves to labor and management.In the future, a strict order will be established in the manor, each gear will be mutually driven, and the management machine will be actively running. He will feel the mood at that time, and now he has felt it.Labor would be done in an intense and orderly manner; as a turning mill grinds wheat into flour, so he would turn all waste and rubbish into money, into clinking money.It seemed that the miraculous master was still standing before him, never leaving him.This was the first person in all Russia who made him feel wise and worthy of respect.So far, the people he can admire are either high officials or rich!There is no one who really admires him because of his wisdom.Costanjoglo was the first person.Chichikov knew very well that he could not bring up the matter of buying the dead serfs with Kostanjoglo, not even discuss it casually.He was thinking about another plan - buying Khlobuyev's estate.He had [-] for himself, and he borrowed [-] from Costan Joglo, because Kostan Joglo himself said that he was willing to help anyone who wanted to make a fortune.The remaining [-] can be paid off after the dead serfs are mortgaged.The newly bought dead serfs cannot yet be mortgaged, because there is no land for them to settle down.Although he kept saying that he had land in Kherson Province, that was planned.He planned to buy land in Kherson Province because the land was cheap there, and as long as someone was willing to live there, he could give it away for free.He also thought that any landlord who had escaped serfs or dead serfs would rush to buy them. Landlords were anxiously mortgaging their manors. In the near future, they might not be able to find unmortgaged land all over Russia.The thought kept running through his mind, preventing him from falling asleep.At this time the whole family had fallen asleep for a full four hours, and Chichikov finally fell asleep too.He fell asleep deeply.

The Road After the Dreams of the Four Landlords Come True

Everything went so smoothly the next day that it could hardly have been smoother.Kostan Zoglo readily lent him ten thousand rubles, without interest and without security—just an IOU.He is more than happy to help anyone who wants to make a fortune.He also decided to accompany Chichikov to see Khlobuyev's estate.After a full breakfast, the three of them set off in Chichikov's carriage.The master's carriage followed, empty.Alb ran to the front and knocked the birds away from the road.The journey of eighteen versts took only a little more than an hour and a half. What lay before us was a small farm with two mansions. One was large and new, but it had not been repaired and had been left there for several years. Yes, the other one is small and old.The host came out to meet them, disheveled and looking freshly woken up, with a patch on his frock coat and a hole in one of his boots.He was very happy to see the guests for some reason, like a long-lost brother. "Konstantin Fyodorovitch! Platon Mikhailovich! Welcome!" he cried. "My dear father! It is a great honor to be here! Let me rub my eyes! Really!" Yes, I thought no one dared to come to me. Everyone avoided me like the plague: I thought I would ask for a loan. Oh, it’s hard, it’s hard, Konstantin Fyodorovitch! I see it —It's my fault. What can I do? It's a terrible time. Excuse me, gentlemen, I'm here to meet you. You can see the holes in my boots. What shall I offer you? ?”

"You are welcome. We have business with you," said Kostanjoglo. "Look, we have brought you a buyer, Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov."

"It is a pleasure to meet you. Please let me shake your hand."

Chichikov stretched out both hands: "Dear Pavel Ivanovich, I would be very pleased to show you around our estate, thank you for your presence... Gentlemen, let me ask: have you had lunch? Yet?"

"We've eaten, we've eaten," said Costanjoglo, not wanting to talk to him, "don't delay any longer, let's go now."

"Then please."

Khlobuyev picked up his hat.The guests put on their hats, and all got up to look at the manor together. "Now let's go and see the untidy and poorly run farm," said Khlobuyev. Don't even have a hen anymore--so poor! Living like a pig, I'm going to be a pig!"

He sighed deeply, probably feeling that Kostanjoglo was hard-hearted and would not get any sympathy from him, so he took Platonov's arm, leaned close to him, and walked away. front.Kostanjoglo and Chichikov followed at a distance holding hands. "It's hard, Platon Mikhailovich, it's hard!" Khlobuyev said to Platonov. "You can't imagine how difficult it is! No money, no food, No shoes to wear! If you are young and single, this is nothing. But I am an old man tortured by this poor life, and I have a wife and five children by my side-worrying people, I can’t help but you don’t worry..."

Platonov really felt sorry for him. "If you sell Zhuangzi, will your situation be remedied?" asked Platonov.

"What remedy can there be!" Khlobuyev said, waving his hand, "I have to use it to pay off the debt, and in the end I won't even get a thousand."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"God knows," said Khlobuyev, shrugging.Platonov was very surprised and asked: "Why don't you think of a way out of this situation?"

"What method do you want?"

"There is no way?"

"There is no way."

"You can seek a position, find something to do."

"I've been a petty official of the twelfth rank. What good position can they give me? The salary is negligible, and I have a wife and five children."

"You can go to a private home and find something to do. Go be a housekeeper."

"Who will hand over the manor to me: I have squandered all my manor."

"Well, since you are threatened by hunger and death, you must find a good way. I'll go back and ask my brother if he can ask someone to find you something to do in the city."

"No, Platon Mikhailovich," said Khlobuyev, sighing, squeezing his hand tightly, "I can't do anything now. I'm old and weak, Because of the sins I did in the past, now I have back pain and arthritis in my shoulders. What can I do! What do I do with the money going to the white collar treasury! There are already too many employees looking for jobs. God bless, not only for me, but for Give me a salary to increase the taxes of the poor: there are so many blood-sucking worms that are enough for them now. No, Platon Mikhailovich, resign yourself to fate."

Platonov thought: "Look at the situation! It's worse than my sleeping in."

Kostanjoglo kept a great distance from Chichikov and them, lagging behind, talking as they walked. "Look, like all landowners, he has ruined his family property," said Costanjoglo, pointing his finger. "How poor he has made the peasants! After the epidemic, one should not be stingy with one's own money." Family property: All should be sold to farmers to buy livestock, and they cannot be left without means of production. Now it will take a few years to change it back. Farmers are all infected with idle habits and all become alcoholics.”

"So it's not a good idea to buy the estate now?" asked Chichikov.After hearing this, Costanjoglo glanced at him, as if to say: "You are so stupid! Do you want to teach you from the alphabet?"

"Not worth it? In only three years I can get twenty thousand a year from this estate. Look how bad it is! Fifteen versts away, it's nothing! What a place! Look at it! Floodplain! If you grow hemp, you can earn five or six thousand a year; if you grow turnips, you can earn four or five thousand a year. Look over there—a piece of rye grows on the hillside; But the old seeds grow themselves. I know he didn't grow any crops. The estate is worth a hundred and fifty thousand, not just forty thousand."

Chichikov walked more slowly, worried that Khlobuyev would hear him. "Look how many lands he threw!" Costanjoglo said, getting angry. "If I told you in advance, there are many people who want to plant. If there is no plow, you can use a shovel to turn it over and turn it into a vegetable garden. He actually let him idle for four years. Doesn't matter? You let them Degenerate and ruin them. They are used to living in naked clothes and living everywhere as homes! They will be like this for the rest of their lives!" Costanjoglo swallowed after finishing speaking, the anger in his heart made his The forehead is covered with a cloud...

"I can't stay here any longer: I'm dying to see all this mess and desolation! You can take care of him yourself now, without me. Take the treasure out of this bastard's hands. He can only defile the gift of God!"

Kostanjoglo bid farewell to Chichikov after finishing speaking, and chased after him to bid farewell to his master. "Oh, Konstantin Fyodorovitch," said his master in astonishment, "just coming and going!"

"There is no way. I have something urgent to go back." Costanjoglo said.He said good-bye to his master, got into his carriage and drove away.Khlobuyev seemed to understand why he was leaving, and said: "Konstantin Fyodorovich can't take it anymore. I know a planter like him won't be happy to see such chaos in management. Can you believe it, Pavel Ivanovich, there is nothing I can do, there is no way ... This year I have barely grown a crop! Really. No seeds, let alone tools for plowing the land. Platon Mihailo I heard that your brother was an excellent planter, Vitch; not to mention Konstantin Fyodorovitch, who was the Napoleon of the trade. Indeed, I have often thought: 'Oh, why should a man's That much wisdom in my head? Just give me a little bit of my stupid brain and let me manage the family business! I can't do anything, I'm not good at anything.' Ah, Pavel Ivanovich, take care of the estate Buy it! I pity my unfortunate farmers the most. I don’t think I’m good at being a... What can I do? Just give them freedom, but the Russians seem to have no one to discipline them...otherwise they will doze off and go bad."

"It's really strange," said Platonov, "why do ordinary Russians turn into drunkards and thugs when they don't have strict discipline?"

(End of this chapter)