The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

Chapter 130 Wherever Leo is, that's where the money is!

The four people waiting at the shipyard entrance heard footsteps and the sound of things being rummaged through inside the shipyard.

Upon entering, I was surprised to find Leo inside!

Orlando was the one with the strongest reaction.

Because he was the one who told the three people who came later that Leo had gone to sea.

The village chief was sweating profusely, wondering if Enzo would try to trick him.

Actually, Leo was at home the whole time, but he lied to me and said he had gone out to sea.

"You, you, what are you doing in there?" he asked nervously.

While searching for something, Leo replied, "I just got back."

"Did you go out to sea or not? Why did you come back from behind?" Aurelio asked.

Which good person goes home by walking through the sea instead of the front door?

This is so strange.

"Of course we've gone out to sea," Leo said, pointing towards the open sea behind the shipyard. "My ship is still docked there."

"But isn't your boat moored on the beach?" Bianchi asked.

Rosalia's boat is small enough to be pushed onto the beach every day without needing to dock at the pier, where there's a fee.

The shipyard area is a rocky coastline, making it impossible to push small boats up.

"I'm just back temporarily to look for something." Leo went into the shipyard warehouse, leaving the four of them outside.

At this point, no one followed any rules about who arrived first or last. The four of them stood at the warehouse door, chattering away, telling Leo about their respective purposes for coming.

However, Leo poked his head out and interrupted them: "I don't have time right now, I have to go out again later. Can you help me find something?"

"What is that?" Four heads popped into the warehouse at the same time.

The four of them had either been helped by Leo or needed his help... Now was the perfect opportunity for them to prove themselves.

Leo gestured in front of him: "A net or cage, something that can trap sea urchins but also prevent crabs and fish from eating them."

"We have some at home," Aurelio and Bianchi said at the same time.

Fishermen don't lack these things.

"But what do you need so many nets for?" Salvi's eyesight wasn't good, but he could still see that Leo was already holding several nets in his hand.

Leo pointed out the direction of the sea: "I'm going to use a net to temporarily hang the sea urchins on the rocks so they'll be fresh when I sell them tomorrow morning."

Sea urchins vary in size and therefore have different prices.

If it shrinks and turns yellow, it won't fetch a good price.

Leo planned to put them in a net bag and hang it on a reef 2 meters deep. The flowing water would provide oxygen for the sea urchins, and the natural seaweed covering the nearby reefs would provide them with food. They should be able to survive until tomorrow morning without any problems.

"We have to be careful of thieves," as crabs and fish near the shore eat sea urchins.

The deliciousness of sea urchins isn't just loved by people.

When Bianchi heard that the purpose was to preserve sea urchins, he gave Leo another suggestion: "You found sea urchins? No need for that. You can make a stone trough to keep them temporarily."

As he spoke, he began to take off his shirt.

"I used to make this all the time when I was a kid. I'll build one for you."

Leo didn't understand this storage method, but as long as it worked, he was fine with anything and didn't object: "Then give it a try."

""

Salvi, whose eyesight was poor, couldn't help and left first, but he said he would go back and ask if anyone had any unused net cages and net bags to send to Leo.

Aurelio obediently went home to get the net and cage.

Bianchi stayed at the shipyard to make stone troughs for Leo.

Orlando, having nothing else to do, stayed with him.

It turns out that Leo appeared from the direction of the sea because he had already lowered some baskets down from the reefs near the shipyard.

To build a stone trough, you need to first understand the size of the sea urchins.

Bianchi swam over and took a look, then came ashore and said to Orlando, "Each bag contains 30 to 50, and there are 4 bags in total. It's easy to make; we can finish assembling them in an hour."

The "stone trough" that Bianchi mentioned is a semi-open pool located in the intertidal zone, built of stone.

Some fishermen with poor economic conditions cannot afford to buy equipment to store their catch, so they build such a pond.

Mediterranean marine life is not afraid of high temperatures; water temperatures of around 20 degrees Celsius are just what they prefer. Therefore, the tank does not need to be too deep. The important thing is to solve the problem of "natural water exchange".

Even the rich kid hasn't built such a trough in a long time. He only built one when he was a child playing with his friends. His family has advanced storage equipment.

While they were figuring out how to build it, Leo rowed out in his little boat again.

Orlando reminded Bianchi from the side, "Leo has gone out to sea, he should be able to bring him back soon. Make it big, not too small."

"I know, I know." Bianchi stood in the sea, the design already taking shape in his mind. "You hand me a stone."

Orlando rolled up his sleeves: "Alright!"

"Leo has returned with sea urchins."

"6

.

"I saw it, it's okay, the tank I made is big enough!"

"OK!"

"Leo is back with sea urchins again."

"So fast?"

"Hmm... he said he didn't have enough pockets."

"Aurelio sent several, and they've used them all up so quickly?"

"Look at this stone trough of ours..."

'

"It's okay, it's not finished yet, we can expand it, it's not a hassle."

"Okay, okay."

"Leo is back..."

""

"I see it. Don't rush me, it'll be completed soon."

"He brought back quite a lot of sea urchins this time..."

'

"I guessed it, so you see, I more than doubled the size, this trough is enough for him."

"Would you like to... go and see for yourself?"

Bianchi thought that he must have been working so hard that his eyes were seeing double.

There were originally only four or five nets tied to the rocks, but after just over three hours, there are now so many that we can't even count them anymore.

Before the sun set, Leo rowed out again in his small boat, but before leaving, he called out to them, "Find me some more nets! I'll have to come back to deliver them soon, and they're slowing me down!"

As the sun set, the boy rowed away in his small boat. Orlando tentatively asked Bianchi, "I'll go find a net for Leo. Can you manage by yourself?"

Everyone knows Bianchi's "workaholic" personality. The village chief guessed that he would not give up until the stone trough was finished today.

But he didn't want to stay... Their speed couldn't keep up with Leo's grab speed at all.

This is a waste of time.

Bianchi thought for two seconds, then calmly picked up the white shirt from the ground: "I'll go with you to find the net and the cage."

Orlando secretly covered his mouth in surprise.

I hardly recognize the boy in front of me anymore.

This...this...this is Bianchi?

The mesh size of the net used to hold sea urchins is different from that used to hold fish.

If the sea urchin is too small, it will suffocate inside; if it's too big, it won't provide much protection. So, finding the right size isn't easy.

There aren't many fishermen in Marzamemi who make a living solely from harvesting sea urchins; just a handful go out to sea alone. The rest mainly rely on fishing, so there aren't many suitable products available on the market.

To help Leo store sea urchins, Aurelio traveled to the homes of various fishermen.

Bianchi also mobilized his brothers to help Leo find things.

Throughout the afternoon and evening, almost the entire village knew that Leo was looking to buy nets and cages.

Marco and Nicholas, having not seen Salvi for most of the day, went to the tobacco shop to look for him and found him weaving a net under the dim light.

"Your eyesight is so bad, how can you do this?" Marco exclaimed in surprise.

Salvi shook his head, giving him a look that said, "You two don't understand." "You two still have the nerve to come here? Shouldn't you be busy making money?"

"Make money from what?" Nicholas didn't understand what Salvi was talking about.

Salvi rubbed his dry eyes: "Don't blame me for not taking you guys with me to make money. Remember, whatever Leo does in the future, that's where the business opportunities lie. That's all I have to say. Think about it yourselves!"

Marco and Nicholas looked at each other.

"Whatever Leo does, that's where the business opportunity lies. What does that mean?"

"I don't know, I only know that Leo is good at making money."

The sun sets.

Leo returned the boat and equipment to Rosalia's house and went back to the shipyard.

Instead of resting, he went to the beach again.

Even when it's the same type of rest, the quality of rest varies depending on one's mood.

To get a good rest, I need to go see his new babies!

"Let me count how many we caught today."

Leo jumped into the sea and happily splashed around counting the sea urchins.