The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

Chapter 123 Come on, why aren't you empty-handed?

Instead of criticizing Bianchi, Sandro told him many stories from his youth.

He recounted his first experience facing swordfish in Messina.

Tell us when and why his name was first remembered by the Sicilians.

He described his feelings when he sat at the same table as his childhood sea idol for a meal.

Throughout the entire interview, Sandro never uttered a single word of praise for Bianchi; he only talked about himself.

But Bianchi felt that...every word his father said was a compliment.

He received this praise without giving anything in return.

"Is this what Leo once meant when he said, 'Just wait patiently, and you're on your way to success'?"

Bianchi felt that his understanding... seemed to have deepened once again.

On the way out of the village, Bianchi was suddenly called away by Sandro, and Enzo dared not leave either.

They were afraid that their night out in Syracuse last week had been exposed, causing trouble for the child.

The people of Sicily are simple and honest, and Madame Rosa was a devout believer. Her sons received a very conservative education from a young age.

Before their engagement, Antonino always made sure that both sets of parents and relatives were present at every date he went with his girlfriend.

When proposing marriage, you should ask for the opinion of the other person's elders; you cannot make a lifelong commitment privately.

Although they didn't do anything in Syracuse that day, some things... are not so easy to explain and cannot be proven.

He vowed never to take Bianchi to do anything so dangerous again!

Enzo parked his car in front of the Sandro family mansion and waited anxiously.

If he heard sounds of fighting and cursing coming from inside, he would definitely go in to rescue the people and then take the blame upon himself.

An hour later, Bianchi came out alone.

Although no sounds of hitting or scolding were heard, his expression was serious, as if he had been punished.

Without a word, Enzo pulled him away: "Get in the car, I'll take you to change your mood."

Bianchi shook his head: "I'm not going. You go to Syracuse by yourself."

Enzo's heart skipped a beat. It seemed his guess was right; the plan to go to Syracuse had indeed been exposed.

But if that's the case, he feels even more responsible for Bianchi: "If we don't go to Syracuse, I'll take you somewhere else. Where would you like to go?"

Bianchi walked off in one direction: "I'm not going anywhere, I'm going to wait for Leo at the village entrance."

According to the plan, Leo should be back around this evening.

"Why are you waiting for Leo at the village entrance?" The big guy was bewildered.

As Bianchi walked towards the village entrance, he explained to Enzo what had happened, finally saying with excitement and determination, "I didn't do anything, yet Leo shared such a great honor with me, and my father looks at me differently because of it..."

Enzo, this is the first time, the first time my father and I have spent an hour alone together like friends. I need to pick up Leo, I need to thank him, I'm not in the mood for anything else right now.

Enzo patted his bald head.

I was worried for so long, thinking something terrible had happened, but it turned out to be a wonderful thing.

Since it's a good thing, we should celebrate it properly.

He grabbed Bianchi's arm: "Get in the car with me first."

Bianchi stubbornly refused to back down, and challenged Enzo to a contest of strength: "I'm not going, you go by yourself."

Enzo grabbed Bianchi: "We're going to Syracuse to pick up Rio. Are you really going to let him squeeze onto a country minibus and then walk 3 kilometers home?"

"Hurry up, or we'll miss our chance." Bianchi obediently got into the car by himself.

Leo departed from Mexico, changed trains in Catania, and finally arrived in Syracuse around dusk.

This time was two or three hours later than he had expected.

There are no more minibuses going back to Marzamemi, and the port authority is closed.

He decided to stay overnight in Syracuse, go to the port authority early the next morning to take care of his business, and then go back.

Before the bus even stopped at the station, Leo began to think about where to stay.

When he first arrived in Syracuse, it was also in the evening. Since there was no public transport to Marzamemi, he inquired about accommodation prices in the vicinity, but there were none that were particularly cheap.

But he was unfamiliar with other parts of Syracuse, and finding accommodation elsewhere would be a hassle.

"Let's stay nearby, even if it's a bit more expensive, and use the money we would have spent on dinner there."

Rinaldi was so enthusiastic that Leo ate all the snacks he brought over the whole journey, and he felt choked up whenever the car swayed even slightly.

Having made his decision, Leo followed the crowd off the bus, burping as he recalled which direction the cheapest accommodation he had asked about last time was in.

Suddenly, he heard someone calling his name, and not just one person.

Looking towards the sound, I caught a glimpse of a man in a white shirt and a bald man with a large beard at the station entrance.

Leo rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand to make sure it wasn't a hallucination, then picked up the black box and ran to find Bianchi and Enzo.

Enzo remained where he was, while Bianchi walked towards Leo.

"What brings you and Enzo to Syracuse?" Leo asked as they walked.

"I've come to pick you up."

"Pick me up?"

"What you said in Messina has reached Malzamemi. Father... Father didn't praise me, but I know he's proud of me." Bianchi led Leo to Enzo's car. "You must be tired from the journey. Come on, get in the car."

Some things don't need much explanation.

Bianchi said no more, and Leo didn't ask any more questions... but both of them knew exactly what was going on.

Enzo, who was leaning against the car, suddenly put his hand on his forehead and tapped it lightly, as if he was holding something in the air.

Leo immediately realized what was happening, touched the brim of his hat and nodded—this was the Sicilian greeting that Enzo had taught him.

The big guy chuckled twice, seemingly pleased with Leo's reaction, and opened the back door: "Get in quickly, we've been waiting for quite a while."

2

Leo returned so late that they thought he had left several times.

Leo didn't get on the car immediately, but explained to them, "I'm not going back to Marzamemi today. I originally wanted to get to Syracuse early to ask the port authority about the diving permit before going back, but something came up today and I'll have to finish my business tomorrow before going back to Marzamemi."

Enzo crossed his arms and said, "What a coincidence! I was also planning to go to the port authority today, but something came up and I couldn't make it. It'll be perfect if we go together tomorrow."

They both looked at Bianchi at the same time: "Then you..."

'

Bianchi hesitated for only a second before making his decision: "I've never stayed out overnight before. It's my first time applying, so Mom should be able to approve it."

"Okay, let's find a place to make a call first, then grab something to eat, and then find something to do tonight to change our mood," Enzo urged the two of them to get in the car.

Leo was so frightened by what was on the back seat that he crawled back out of the car and didn't dare to get back in.

"no...

"You've come all this way, why aren't you empty-handed?"

There were more than a dozen plastic bags on the back seat, filled with all sorts of snacks!

Leo only glanced at it before he wanted to cover his throat again.

Bianchi moved the food to the passenger seat because he wanted to sit in the back with Leo and have a good chat about what happened in Messina: "I was worried you'd be hungry after such a long drive, so I bought some food, but I didn't know what you liked, so I bought a little bit of everything."

Bianchi and Leo are about the same age, but Bianchi is inexperienced in the ways of the world.

He and Rinaldi chose the same kind of way to treat people: buying them food and drinks.

Leo got into the car: "I'm not very hungry, and there's plenty of food in the car, so I won't eat."

Enzo thought for a moment and said, "Okay, let's go change our mood."

Syracuse is a big city, but there are still many places to go for nightlife.

After waiting for a while, no one responded, because the two young people couldn't wait to start chatting.

"Tell me quickly, how did you obtain the Silverfin Hunter!"

"That's a long story. It starts with the ironclad rules of navigation that Captain Rinaldi told me."

"What? Rinaldi, that kid who hasn't even grown his hair yet, is the captain?"

"Yes, I went there one day and I caught him cursing his father. I was terrified."

"Quick, quick, tell me this part first, I want to hear what happened!"

"Let's go change our mood, guys!!" Enzo shouted again.

Bianchi patted Enzo's chair, as if trying to make him behave and not make too much noise that would disturb the adults' serious conversation: "Let's go somewhere quiet, Enzo. I need to have a good talk with Leo."

Leo also took a moment to reply, "It would be best to find another rope; I want to show Bianchi some of the new training methods I've learned."

"Training methods?"

"Rope control training, as well as throwing training and reaction exercises."

"Why didn't they teach me? They're biased!"

"Oh? So what did you study in Messina?"

"Looking at the sky, God, that's too difficult. I don't understand what sailing has to do with the stars..."

Enzo clenched his fist tightly.

I tried my best not to throw those two noisy boys out of the car!

There are countless ways to be kind to people in this world.

But three people chose the same method on one day.

Yesterday, Lucia went to town and bought a lot of delicious food to share with Leo, because she discovered that Leo also seemed to be obsessed with food.

After racking my brains for hours trying to come up with a reasonable excuse to send the food away, Marzamemi received devastating news as soon as he arrived today—Leo was not here.

The kind woman told her that Leo might be back in the afternoon, and she could wait if he left late.

But Rukia waited and waited, until she couldn't wait any longer... but still didn't receive any news of Leo's return.

Just as the truck was about to be filled with dried tomatoes and they were about to head back, Lucia took the time to deliver the things she had brought to the shipyard.

Normally, the main gate isn't locked; Leo only locks his bedroom door.

Rukia hadn't even entered the room when she saw a yellow object fly overhead.

She was so frightened that she covered her head. When she looked up, she saw a chubby orange kitten on the roof of the shipyard.

.

The kitten tilted its head and looked at her warily.

"Oh, little kitten!"

Rukia stretched out her hands to it, making cute "meow meow" sounds: "Come down, let your big sister hug you."