The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

Chapter 110 Sicilian Hat Etiquette

Enzo rushed in, of course, not to attack anyone.

He wanted to see what was in the box.

Sicily is a complex place, but the things inside the box are not something everyone has the opportunity to experience.

Which Sicilian man hasn't dreamed of playing with a gun?

Especially that long sniper rifle!

"What are you talking about? Where are the guns?" Bianchi said innocently. "How could Leo and I be those kinds of people? Those are things only the mafia use."

Bianchi's godfather nodded: "That's right, we don't have that kind of thing. Enzo, you've come at the right time. Come and see the fork box I made."

Leo held the 2-meter-long black box in his hand, and before he could even make a gesture, Enzo exclaimed, "This box is really cool."

To align with Sicilian aesthetics, Leo designed the fork-shaped magazine based on the gun case.

But the longest gun case on the market is only about 1.67 meters long. This case is a bit longer than that one, so I don't have much confidence.

But Leo's harpoon box received high praise from two indigenous people—"Such an awesome harpoon deserves such an awesome house."

Leo carried the fork box around the shipyard twice, and Enzo and Bianchi also eagerly carried the box around a few times to have some fun.

Enzo was tall and strong, and he looked most impressive carrying this two-meter-long forked box.

"But this is Leo's fork case." Bianchi looked at Enzo, then at Leo, and felt that it was a level below in terms of imposing presence. "It has to be Leo carrying it to make it look more imposing."

Leo joked, "I'll eat more and try to catch up with Enzo's weight as soon as possible."

Leo and Enzo are about the same height, but their weights are so different that Leo can't project an imposing presence.

Enzo crossed his arms and looked Leo up and down: "It's not just about size. I know where the problem lies. Your clothes don't match this box."

Leo looked down at himself: "It's alright, isn't this how everyone dresses?"

In the 90s, men in Sicily dressed very uniformly.

Linen shirts, casual pants, vests, and Coppola hats of various colors—it all looked like a copy-paste job.

Leo just doesn't have the habit of wearing hats, and he wasn't wearing a vest today either.

What's wrong with my clothes?

"Do you have any more formal clothes?" Enzo asked.

Leo shook his head.

He only brought a small suitcase to Sicily this time, and packed only two sets of clothes, prioritizing comfort and lightness, as there was no need to bring formal attire.

Enzo said seriously, "You're going to Messina representing Marzamemi, so you should at least dress formally on the first day."

He glanced at his watch: "There probably isn't anywhere to buy one now."

"I have it." Bianchi offered Leo's help. "I'll bring it to you later. Enzo was right, you're going to Messina on behalf of Malzamemi, so you need to be mindful of your image."

"Did you always dress that formally before?" Leo asked Bianchi.

Bianchi nodded, looking proud, and said, "Last year, my mother personally put together a formal suit for me. She hand-cut the turtleneck and took me to Syracuse to buy the small handkerchief."

Leo hissed, surprised that he actually had to dress so formally. "Well then," he thought, "I'll do as the Romans do."

Enzo looked Leo up and down: "First, you need a more formal shirt."

"I have one," Bianchi said sensibly.

"You'll need to bring your belt too."

"I have."

"The shoes should be more formal too."

"I have one too."

Leo quickly interrupted Bianchi's generosity: "Forget about the leather shoes, I'll just wear my own."

Bianchi explained, "I have a lot of unworn leather shoes; I'll get you some new ones from home."

Enzo, the great designer, continued to comment: "The Coppola hat isn't formal enough. You should also give Leo a Fedora or a Borsalino hat."

"I'll get Leo a new one."

Sunglasses are also needed.

"I'll get Leo a new one."

"Leo, would you like to wear a vest?"

"I'll get Leo a new one."

Bianchi's heart is good.

But he was ten centimeters shorter than Rio.

The clothes that were delivered haven't been changed yet, but you can tell at a glance that the size is wrong.

Leo tried to refuse the clothes because they didn't fit, but Bianchi and Enzo were too enthusiastic, so he had no choice but to change into them and let them see.

Bianchi's clothes all became tight-fitting on Leo.

Leo walked out of the bedroom, uncomfortably adjusting his shirt. "This is no way it can look good."

There were no mirrors in the shipyard, so he could only get a general idea of ​​what was going on.

Bianchi said, whether sincerely or not, "Mom said that fitted formal wear is in fashion in Palermo now. I didn't believe it, but it does seem to look better this way."

Enzo came over carrying a black box and handed it to Leo: "Try it."

Leo took it and spun it around.

The two people opposite them nodded simultaneously: "That's right!"

Enzo's outfit is really not in Leo's aesthetic sense; it's too "Sicilian".

He tried several times to refuse Bianchi's offer and wear his own clothes.

Enzo and Bianchi comforted Leo, saying that everyone in Sicily dresses like this, and told him not to feel guilty.

To prove this point, they were to wear the same formal attire to the village entrance the next day to see Leo off.

Leo reluctantly agreed.

The next morning, Leo carried the fork box all the way to the village entrance, attracting a lot of attention.

From 80-year-old grandmothers to toddlers who can't walk, everyone has the same expression when they see him.

One woman even ran home with her child in her arms.

Leo hadn't witnessed something like this in over a month...

He adjusted his hat, seemingly out of habit.

I was thinking to myself, "Just because I changed my clothes, you don't recognize me anymore?"

It wasn't until he saw his two accomplices at the village entrance that Leo realized, as if looking in a mirror, where the problem lay.

"Be careful on the road," Enzo said, hands in his pockets.

His attire and beard suggested he was at least a key member of the Mafia.

Bianchi leaned against the wall, pointed at the black box in Leo's hand, and said, "Be careful what's inside."

The outfit Bianchi is wearing today was also carefully chosen for him by Mrs. Rosa.

Every time he puts on the battle suit his mother personally puts together, Bianchi's fighting spirit is ignited, and he becomes so fierce that he thinks, "If you can't kill me, I'll kill you," making him look like a terrorist who is a threat to society.

When Leo saw the two people's outfits, he understood what kind of image he now had.

He looked down at his clothes and the black box in his hand.

Perhaps a ruthless killer who doesn't blink an eye?

Enzo looked Leo up and down, quite satisfied. Before leaving, he reminded him, "Don't forget the Sicilian etiquette I taught you yesterday."

Leo, carrying the black box in one hand and adjusting the brim of his hat with the other, nodded slightly: "No need to see me off."

Enzo and Bianchi said that if you wear Sicilian attire, you should observe Sicilian etiquette.

In Sicily, hats are not just accessories, but also a code word for status, seniority, and attitude.

For example, if the three of them are of the same generation, when they greet each other, they touch the brim of their hats with their hands and nod their heads slightly. This is a very formal way of greeting each other.

Enzo and Bianchi walked to the intersection, watching Leo leave with their eyes.

After watching for a while, Bianchi turned to Enzo and asked, "Isn't dressing him up a bit too 'formal'?"

Not every Sicilian dresses like this...

Enzo looked fierce: "Leo is from out of town. I'm afraid he'll be bullied in Messina. Dressed like this, no one will dare to mess with him."

Bianchi nodded silently: "That makes sense. Maybe someone will even offer him help."

There is no direct public transport from Marzamemi to Messina; you have to take a rural minibus to Syracuse first.

Once he arrived in Syracuse, he knew the way, because Messina was his first stop in Sicily, and he recognized all the bus stops there.

It takes two or three kilometers of walking along a country dirt road from the village entrance to reach the minibus stop.

This bus only runs three times a day, and this stop picks up and drops off villagers from two or three nearby villages.

August is the season when plants grow wildly. The wild figs were ripe, and the ground under the tree was covered with dark purple fruits. Leo picked a few to eat, and they were especially sweet.

Passing through a dense grove of trees, I saw an old farmer driving a donkey cart picking wild figs from the ground with a large basket.

Leo scooped up a handful and put them in his basket: "Could you take me a little further? I can pay you."

Leo wanted to hitch a ride to the station.

The old farmer didn't want to pay attention to him at first, but couldn't he see that he was busy?

Turning his head, he quickly retreated several steps, abandoning his basket, and hid behind the donkey cart: "I'm not familiar with this area; I'm just passing through!"

Leo adjusted his tone to its most amiable level: "I'm going to the station in front of me. Are you going in that direction?"

When the old farmer saw that he was carrying a big black box, he didn't dare to refuse. He immediately spurred the donkey and said, "Go, go, go wherever you say we'll go."

Seeing that Leo was staring at the large basket on the ground, the old man moved the whole basket of figs next to Leo and hurriedly drove the donkey away.

These days, even in rural Sicily, donkey carts are a rare sight, considered a rarity.

Leo was thrilled with his first time sitting there, especially when the old man let him eat as many wild figs as he wanted from the basket, which made him even happier.

This was his first time leaving the village. The last time he came, it was at night, and it was pitch black so he couldn't see anything. It turns out that the scenery around Marzamemi is quite nice.

It has mountains and water, and the types of farmland are quite diverse.

Seeing that Leo was in a good mood and didn't seem threatening, the old farmer cautiously asked, "Here...to run some business?"

"No, I'm out running errands."

"To accomplish something big?"

"It's a big deal."

The old man chuckled awkwardly, "I never expected to meet such an important person today."

Leo quickly corrected him: "No, no, no, just an ordinary person."

The old man nodded quickly: "I understand, people like you are very low-key."

As the two were talking, they passed by a high-end car parked in the shade by the roadside.

The old farmer said ingratiatingly, "I'm sorry to trouble you. Riding in my old donkey cart is not as comfortable as riding in a car."

The old man was very polite to Leo, and Leo returned the courtesy by shouting in a loud voice, "I love riding in your donkey cart. I wouldn't even bother riding in a car."

The old man chuckled twice, thinking to himself that this person was quite humorous.

How can a donkey cart be compared to a car?

Unexpectedly, the driver in the car also heard what Leo said, opened the door, got out, and waved at their donkey cart.

Aurelio smiled and said to the old farmer, "Please wait a moment, I'll just chat with him for a bit, it'll be quick."

After telling the old farmer to wait a moment, Leo followed Aurelio to the side.

The old farmer took out a cigarette and muttered to himself:

The young man knew the person driving the car.

So it turns out there really are people who have cars but choose to ride in donkey carts?

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