Italy
Returning from France, Pushkin and Onegin arranged a trip around Russia for their companions. They toured the country from west to east, and also visited Central Asia and the Caucasus.
Not without visiting their native places where the sisters spent their childhood, and, of course, they spent a week in Moscow, with Olga. Maria and Irina were amazed at how much the country had changed over the years of their residence in France - they were fascinated by literally everything from comfortable cities to service on Russian Railways trains.
Having traveled a lot, Maria and Alexander settled in Mikhailovsky, and Ira and Evgeny settled in St. Petersburg. No one talked about creating a family, everything suited everyone.
One day, in Onegin's office, the phone rang.
- And who do you work, dear? Eugene heard the voice of a friend.
- You, my friend, give! He himself predetermined my profession. Did you forget your lines?
"...
But read Adam Smith
And there was a deep economy,
That is, he was able to judge
How does the state grow rich?
And what lives, and why
He doesn't need gold
When a simple product has.
Father could not understand him
And gave the land as a pledge "
- I wanted to go against the will of the father, who read out all our estate to me. But I graduated from the Timiryazev Academy. Now I have an audit firm, I help farms keep records. At the same time, I feel great and always remember you with gratitude, dear Alexander Sergeevich. “By the way, about work,” Onegin continued the conversation. - The other day I was invited to conduct an audit in a large Italian bank.
- Well, then, let Ira come to Masha in Mikhailovskoye, spend time in nature, - suggested Alexander Sergeevich.
All the way from St. Petersburg to Rome, Onegin told Pushkin about the circumstances of their business trip.
- There is one very large banker, one of our former ones, who decided to finance a charitable organization from Palermo. Under the agreement, the amount of assistance is determined based on the number of needy registered in the organization. So the founder of the charitable foundation provided lists for more than 2 million people, despite the fact that the population of all of Sicily does not reach 5 million. It turns out that more than half registered as beggars - can you imagine how much money is flowing away! And everything is confirmed by documents about the real presence of these people.
The plane made a soft landing at Rome-Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport. A car was brought up to the gangway. The employee who greeted him fluently, speaking Russian almost without an accent, uttered a lot of compliments to Yevgeny and spoke flatteringly about Pushkin's top hat and cane.
The bank owner's office was located in a picturesque suburban area. Arriving at the parking lot, friends noticed the unusual exterior of the building. On a small pedestal stood a human-sized bronze nose, and on the lawn there was a sculptural composition in the form of a devil and a rat chatting on a bench.
- Stroke your nose, gentlemen, it brings good luck, - the employee advised the guests, - this is one of our good traditions.
The banker met with Onegin and Pushkin in the office lobby.
- Nikolai Vasilyevich, - he introduced himself.
- Eugene Onegin.
- Alexander Pushkin.
Friends shook hands with a new acquaintance, and now also a business partner of Evgeny.
Inviting guests to dinner, Gogol told Onegin in detail about the circumstances that forced him to turn to an independent audit firm.
- Business in Italy, one way or another, comes into contact with representatives of mafia clans - historically, it happened that way. I always took this into account when I was approached for a loan or with a request for gratuitous assistance,” Gogol began the story. - Our compatriot Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov came from Palermo with a proposal to finance a charitable foundation to help the poor and migrants. The gentleman is not handsome, but not bad-looking, not too fat, not too thin; one cannot say that he is old, but it is not that he is too young either. He says that, they say, then it will be possible to receive refinancing from the EU for migrants. Naturally, I thought that it could not have done without Cosa Nostra. The only condition I set was that a clear record of the persons who received assistance should be organized. We signed a contract and started working. But I did not count on such a large-scale assistance to anyone who knows, and now he is terrorizing me with an agreement. I sent the head of the Security Service, Vincenzo Viy, to Sicily, he is from those places, he himself was once a mafia - but to no avail. Chichikov resolved all issues with the local clans and "milks" me by sending incredible lists of those in need. I need a delicate professional investigation and proof of his fraud - he needs to be pinned to the wall with facts, documents, proof of forgery. Our contract spells out the conditions for my control over the spending of the allocated funds, so you are going there legally, there are no secrets, everything is within the framework of the signed documents. Find me this forgery, and then I'll deal with it myself, - Gogol leaned back in his chair, waiting for Onegin's answer.
“The inspector is coming to see you,” one mayor once said, “Yevgeny said with a smile.
Staying in Sicily did not take long. Within a week, Onegin "unearthed" where Chichikov got so many people in need. It turned out that he did not bother to really help the poor, and even more so the migrants. Having obtained access to the registers for bribes, he simply sent lists of victims of the pandemic to Gogol, and organized the inaccessibility of information for the Bank's Security Service by financing the local mafia. The fraudster Chichikov also managed to receive funds from the Italian government to help those affected by the epidemic. All state institutions are closed, and information about the dead in Sicily did not reach Rome.
Nikolai Vasilyevich was amazed at the scale of the theft and certainly did not expect that Chichikov would "stick" to the country's budget - this gave him additional trump cards in order to imprison him.
“Everything seems to be true, everything can happen to a person.”
Gogol sincerely thanked Onegin for his work, which he announced through his assistant, expressing regret that he could not organize travel and recreation for his friends due to quarantine.
Returning to Russia, Onegin gladly accepted the invitation to spend time in Mikhailovsky, where Masha and Irina were waiting for them. Spring warmth and greenery favored the romantic pastime of lovers.
- You have a good job, - said Pushkin, saying goodbye to Onegin and Irina.
“Let Masha choose the next trip,” Irina asked, hugging Evgeny.
05/22/2020
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Where will my prankster jump? Who will he start with? It doesn't matter: it's no wonder to be in time everywhere.
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Study trips to Italy for schoolchildren