The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

Chapter 136 What Life Should Be Like

Leo has developed some fixed ideas.

It's also possible that I've been busy from morning till night these past two days, catching and storing sea urchins, and neglected the details.

In the past, when hunting fish, the fish would be placed in a box lined with crushed ice and pushed to the fish market in a small cart.

The same transportation route was used for this sea urchin harvest.

The sea urchins were hanging on the reefs. In order to sink them all into the sea, these reefs were some distance away from the shipyard. The nets were all put on the boat and pulled to the dock at once. It only took a short distance to push them with a trolley to reach the vicinity of Aesop's truck.

Angie is indeed a bit noisy and has some mental issues, but he really came in handy this time.

"If Sandro were to listen to Angie's advice, perhaps your Mariani family could rise to even greater heights," Leo said, praising Angie while he was away.

Bianchi lost all of his matches against Leo, but he found his own strengths.

Physical labor.

When forging iron, he could forge new steel pieces faster than Leo;

He was stronger than Leo when pulling the rope;

When transporting sea urchins, his truck carried more than Rio's.

Tiny Bianchi pushed a cart that was taller and wider than himself along the dock corridor. From the opposite side, he looked like a monstrous giant covered in spikes who had emerged from the sea.

"But my dad won't listen to Angie." Sea urchins aren't heavy, but when you stack them up, you have to keep their center of gravity from shifting while moving forward. It requires some care and skill, so it can be described as a combination of strength and gentleness.

"Wow, Bianchi, you're amazing!"

Fishermen nearby exclaimed in amazement when they saw Bianchi pushing so many sea urchins over. Bianchi gave them a sheepish smile.

Bianchi is not Angie, so you can praise him to his face.

Leo didn't hold back his praise: "If your father gave you more opportunities, your Mariani family would rise to even greater heights."

Look, Bianchi has so many advantages!

Who says he only knows how to work hard and hunt fish?

Bianchi's smile vanished: "That's because you don't know how amazing my brothers are."

Leo chased after him, trying to catch up: "Why do you always have to compare yourself to your brothers?"

Bianchi replied from the front, "Because only if I'm as good as my brothers will Father praise me."

Leo continued from behind, "Then why did you want your father to praise you?"

Bianchi fell silent.

Yes, why is that?

He couldn't even remember when this obsession started; it seemed to have started when he could remember things.

Leo carefully caught up with Bianchi, almost dropping a net in the process, and finally walked alongside him!

"So many villagers are praising you...isn't that enough?"

Several more voices of praise for Anqi emerged from the surrounding area, much to everyone's delight.

Bianchi was momentarily distracted, and Leo overtook him, walking in front of him and saying with a smile, "I would be very happy if so many people praised me."

Leo urged, "Come on, what's wrong? You're out of energy?"

Bianchi snapped out of his daze and overtook Leo in a few strides: "How is that possible? After pushing this cart of sea urchins, I can still swim 10 kilometers in the sea!"

"Wow, that's amazing! I can't do it anymore, I'm exhausted. I need to rest after selling the sea urchins, otherwise I won't have the energy to go back into the sea," Leo replied, half-jokingly.

Bianchi in front of him pushed even harder.

Bianchi didn't dare speak up for Leo in front of his father yesterday, but he had prepared many drafts in his mind, listing all of Leo's merits one by one.

After today, his draft will include an additional sentence: "Leo improves rapidly in everything he does."

Yesterday we sold 40 worth of goods, and today the sales revenue has increased to 43.

Aesop's styrofoam boxes weren't enough... He asked Leo with a strange expression, "How many are you planning to send tomorrow?"

Look at this choice of words, "intend".

Aesop seemed certain that Leo would bring back more sea urchins tomorrow!

Bianchi watched silently from the side, thinking to himself that it was a good thing Leo wasn't his brother, otherwise he would never have gained his father's approval in this lifetime.

After selling the sea urchins, Leo went to the coffee shop, while Bianchi went to the church to find his mother. The two parted ways, promising to continue training together the next morning.

Today, Andrei was still telling the sequel to "The Son of the Sea," and the old men were still listening with great interest. But as soon as Leo walked in, Andrei paused his storytelling and sat down opposite Leo: "Little fox, there's news about the house you asked me to inquire about!"

Leo said enthusiastically, "Tell me about it!"

Although buying a big boat is the priority right now, Leo still wants to learn about houses. If he doesn't buy now, he'll have to buy sooner or later. It's like practicing rope control; you can't wait until you want to buy to learn about the house.

Andrei had been keeping this matter in mind, but the conditions Leo offered were particularly suitable. There were plenty of vacant houses in Malzamemi, but not many that met these conditions.

He spent more than half a month inquiring before he finally found out a few pieces of real estate information worth sharing with Leo.

"The first house is near the pier, just 100 meters away, which is convenient for going to the fish market. The area is inhabited by local fishermen. However, the house is not very big, only one floor, about 40 square meters, and the asking price is 1800 million lira."

"1800 million lira..." Leo was momentarily stunned. "Didn't you say you could buy a house for 1200 million lira?"

Andrei explained, "1200 million lira is the price of houses in Rosalia's neighborhood. Do you want to live there? There are plenty of properties available."

Leo immediately shook his head: "No, no, please continue."

He couldn't sleep at night living in that dilapidated housing area!

Andrei continued, "The second one is nearby, in the alley of the cathedral square. It's a very lively place, with shops and restaurants right outside. The house has two floors, no yard, but a rooftop terrace. It's 100 square meters, but the price is a bit high at 3900 million lira. However, there are very few vacant houses around here, so it's not easy to find one."

Leo hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Anything else?"

This house is way too expensive.

Besides, he doesn't need to live in such a central area; it's fine for a young person to walk a little further.

Andrei nodded; he also thought the house was a bit expensive, but it was the closest to him...

...I secretly wish I could be neighbors with Leo, then we could eat together every day?

He continued, "The last one is an old townhouse near the Ionian Sea beach. It has a yard and a terrace. You can see the beach and the sea from inside the house. It's a two-story house, 100 square meters. The downside is that it's far from the village center, the house is quite old, and the furnishings are also very outdated. It would need a major renovation to move in. The asking price is 2800 million lira. I know the seller, so I should be able to get it for less."

A yard, a terrace, and a sea view... these are all elements that Leo values ​​highly.

These locals who have lived by the sea their whole lives don't care about whether it's right next to the sea or not, but outsiders like him really love houses where you can see the sea just by opening the window.

After hearing about the three houses, Leo was only interested in the last one, so he arranged to meet Andrei when he returned that evening to take a look.

In the evening, Leo returned to Malzamemi.

After hanging the sea urchins on the rocks, he went to the shore to fetch Big Orange.

Leo said to the little one in his arms, "Give me your advice too."

He found the old seaside buildings at the address Andrei had given him. The place was quite far from the village center, and Leo had not been there before or after dusk.

At this moment, the setting sun bathed the entire area in a warm, honey-yellow hue, gilding the mottled old walls, the cast-iron railings of the balconies, and the shirts on the clotheslines with a hazy golden edge.

The villagers, far from the hustle and bustle, prepare the most important meal of the day—dinner—in their rooms or on their balconies.

Everything before my eyes lacked the hustle and bustle of a modern city, instead possessing a slow, relaxed feeling, as if forgotten by time... and this feeling was exactly what Leo envisioned for life.

Leo looked down at the kitten in his arms and asked, "I really like it here, what about you?"

The big orange cat looked left and right, its face full of curiosity.

"Meow"