The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

Chapter 112 The Mafia's Life Isn't Easy Either

Leo had watched videos on video websites about traditional methods of hunting swordfish.

Perhaps it was due to the shooting angle, or perhaps it was because of the different filming locations, but I didn't find the ship itself particularly impressive at the time.

But today I had the opportunity to see the famous ancient wooden boat with high spears in person, and the impact was quite significant.

It not only has a long nose, but also a tall head.

That antenna, over 20 meters long, is the lookout mast; the lookout climbs it to search for the swordfish.

The platform that extends outwards can reach up to 30 meters in length; that's where the spearfishers stand.

Leo couldn't even imagine how shaky it would be to stand in these two places if there were waves at sea, especially since people standing on the extended platforms would be holding harpoons or spears and facing swordfish directly.

"I might not even have a chance to stand on it," Leo consoled himself.

Marco and Andrei said that 99% of people don't have a chance to stand on it, so don't worry about it.

Although it was a long journey, most of the routes were the same ones Leo had taken when he first came to Sicily, and everything went smoothly.

However, after the car stopped at the Messina long-distance bus station, Leo had to figure out his way.

He will be staying at the Cumanso family's house for the next couple of days. According to Bianchi, they live in an old town near the Strait of Messina.

Leo got off the bus and wanted to ask a passerby where the old town was. He found that the pedestrians on the street were walking in a hurry, and it seemed that they were all walking in one direction. Some of them were even wearing traditional medieval clothing.

After hesitating for two seconds, Leo followed, carrying his fork box.

May to September is the peak season for Western holidays, and Leo guessed he might have been lucky enough to catch one of the local festivals.

We followed the flow of people for two blocks and arrived at a wide avenue.

The area suddenly became crowded with people, and there were performances—street performers were doing magic tricks, folk bands were performing traditional songs, and people in strange costumes were singing and dancing.

Leo approached someone who seemed approachable and asked, "What are you doing?"

The man, speaking with a strong out-of-town accent and seemingly a tourist, glanced in a certain direction while explaining to Leo, "You're from out of town too? Didn't you do your research? There's a parade for the Feast of the Assumption of Mary today! Look! The float carrying Our Lady is here!"

Leo followed the man's gaze and saw a huge pyramid-shaped float at the end of the road, several meters high, divided into three levels, each with different statues.

At the bottom is the Virgin Mary at rest, surrounded by the twelve apostles.

The middle layer depicts angels, stars, the sun and the moon, as well as spheres representing the mortal world and heaven.

At the very top is Jesus Christ, who is reaching out to greet the Ascension Mother.

The tourist said it was a float, but to Leo it looked more like a boat, because it had no external mechanical power and was propelled by human labor pulling huge cables across a soapy asphalt surface.

Many people dressed in medieval costumes and religious attire danced and sang around the moving floats, while devout believers worshipped them.

After watching the commotion for a while, Leo asked a local for directions and then left the crowd to head towards the less crowded coastline.

I didn't expect the festive atmosphere here to be so strong.

Many fishermen were scattering flower petals into the sea, while others were pouring wine into it, murmuring blessings of gratitude for the Virgin Mary's protection throughout the fishing season.

"Sicily is truly a place steeped in religious atmosphere... On days like these, the fishermen are probably the busiest." Leo glanced around a few times and quickly left.

Finding a place to stay was indeed difficult.

Without a Didi driver, Leo walked and asked for directions along the way, spending more than an hour before finally finding the old town where the Manso family lived.

This old town area is built along the sea and has a strong sense of local life.

Fruits, vegetables, and bundles of pasta are piled up at the entrance of the grocery store, and you can hear the old refrigerator inside humming and trying to keep cool as you pass by.

The old man sat on the bench by the door, his hat pulled low. He wouldn't even lift his eyelids when a hitman with a gun case passed by, but if a cat passed by, he would bend down to take advantage of it before letting it go.

Residents wearing slippers darted about in the alleyways, making a clattering sound on the stone pavement. Some carried nets, while others carried food or chilled beer.

There is at least one seafood shop on every street.

Fish of various shapes and sizes are laid out on a table covered with ice. When the owner sees someone passing by the door, he will call out, "Would you like some of the fish that were caught today?"

Leo sniffed and stopped in front of a fish stall, drawn to the freshly grilled seafood skewers.

He couldn't tell what kind of seafood was on each skewer, but his brain told him—he'd know once he tasted it.

When the owner saw Leo staring at the seafood skewers in his hand, he offered a reasonable price and didn't try to rip him off just because he was a newcomer. The owner was mainly intimidated by Leo's attire.

Leo didn't disappoint the fair-minded owner and ordered four skewers in one go.

While waiting for the food to be made, I noticed a young man holding a dessert I'd never seen before, and shamelessly went over to ask where he bought it.

I successfully found a shop selling these pancakes called Carino and ordered one pistachio chocolate flavor and one plain flavor.

They ate as they returned to the seafood stall.

The timing was perfect.

Just as Leo finished the last bite of his Carino pancake, the owner handed him four skewers of seafood, each with a squeezed lemon.

"One of my wishes has been fulfilled." Leo took a bite, savoring the lingering fragrance.

The little glutton ate his fill today!

The shopkeeper gave Leo directions, and he quickly found the house where the Manso family lived.

Unfortunately, the owner was not home.

Leo guessed that the blacksmith had probably gone out to sea and hadn't returned yet, so he waited at the door of the blacksmith's shop next to it.

Messina is a big city, and the old town is densely populated, so the blacksmith shops here are doing brisk business; you could say they're bustling with activity.

One blacksmith was forging the blacksmith's work, while several others watched.

But as soon as Leo arrived, no one watched the blacksmithing anymore; everyone secretly stared at the black box in his hand.

A few moments later, several burly men came out.

They were very polite, but you could detect a hint of wariness in their tone: "Is there anything I can help you with, sir?"

Leo pointed to the house where the Manso family lived: "They're waiting for someone."

The group exchanged glances, and one of them spoke up, asking, "Do you need us to go and call them back?"

Leo was taken aback.

Can we call them back?

"Didn't they go out to sea?"

An older man smiled and said to Leo, "Today is the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. The Peglerini family went to church for a blessing ceremony and posted a handwritten wish list under the small cross. It's a local tradition... Sir, why don't you tell us your name and purpose for coming, and we'll call the person back for you? Otherwise, you'll be waiting quite a while."

So they went to pray for blessings too... But since they're busy, let's not bother them.

Leo declined the other person's offer, explaining, "I'm here to help the Kumanso family hunt swordfish. Just wait here, there's no rush."

It's time to go out to sea today, so Leo isn't in a hurry.

Several men made puzzled, nasal sounds, repeating Leo's words: "You're here to help hunt swordfish?"

Leo nodded, put down the fork box he was holding, and began to unlock the latches, wanting to prove to them his purpose.

But he stopped halfway through, feeling a little embarrassed to reveal the trident in front of everyone.

So he patted the box twice: "These are my fishing weapons."

A young man exchanged glances with the people around him, then jogged out, saying, "I... I think I'll inform them."

Twenty minutes later, a boy of about twelve or thirteen years old entered the blacksmith's shop.

His gaze swept around the room and settled on Leo by the door.

"Are you here to help?" The boy was going through puberty, and his voice was both mature and childlike.

Leo nodded, stood up, and said to the boy, "Yes, I'm from Malzamemi."

Without a word, the kid gestured for Leo to follow: "Come with me."

"Going to church?" Leo followed him away.

The boy walked quickly: "No, Dad asked me to take you to the dock."

Behind them, four or five heads peeked out from the blacksmith's shop.

"This guy really is here to help hunt swordfish; I thought he was a member of the mafia."

"We can't rule out that possibility either; that big black box of his is too suspicious."

"The Mafia is hunting swordfish? Are you sure?"

"The current economic climate is bad; it's tough to work in any industry. What if they're just trying to earn some pocket money?"

"Such a dangerous way to earn pocket money?"

"What they do isn't more dangerous than swordfish?"

That makes sense.