The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

Chapter 152 A new age of exploration has begun!

What a money-grubbing guy... Aesop couldn't help but sigh to himself.

Fortunately, Leo has the excellent quality of "looking to make money," otherwise there really wouldn't have been a way to retain him.

Aesop remembered this well, as it might come in handy later, and then got down to business: "The merchants of Syracuse are looking for a kind of snail."

Leo, eager to get out to sea, asked rapidly, "There are over 1000 kinds of snails in the Mediterranean. What are their names? What do they look like? Tell me more information."

Aesop adjusted his hat, blocking Leo from seeing his expression: "It's precisely because they don't know many details that they set such a high price..."

Leo's eyes widened, giving him a "Are you kidding me?" look: "No other clues??"

Aesop tried to remain calm and said, "Of course not, but there aren't many clues... My supplier said that a purple pigment can be extracted from this kind of snail."

Leo blurted out a single word: "Tyrpurple?"

"Yes, it's Tyrese!" Aesop asked in surprise, "Did other merchants contact you?"

His employer couldn't even pronounce this word properly, let alone him.

Leo shook his head: "No, you can continue."

Aesop shrugged: "That's it, that's all."

Leo rubs his face with both hands... This scene is all too familiar.

He asked, half-jokingly and half-indignantly, "Your supplier must have just heard about it from others, right? Ask him if he's ever heard of giant scallops that are more valuable than gold, or mutant octopuses that could save the fate of all mankind."

Aesop has become acquainted with the high-end buyers in Syracuse through the sponges that Leo brought back, and recently learned some unknown "secrets".

He patiently explained, "A foreign boss came to Sicily and immediately started collecting all sorts of rare sea creatures. It's unclear what he was looking for, but he was incredibly generous with his money. Upon hearing this, merchants began collecting rare seafood and sending it over..."

Various rumors thus began to circulate.

Leo pointed to himself: "I am one of the victims."

Aesop said in a gentle tone, "How can you be considered a victim? You've made so much money from these 'rumors'... The merchants in Syracuse said that each conch shell is worth 5 lira, and they'll buy as many as you can get. If you can bring back a hundred or so, wouldn't that cover the cost of buying a ship?"

Knowing that Leo had been inquiring about secondhand fishing boats, Aesop deliberately brought it up and continued to persuade him, "My supplier called me yesterday and asked me to pass on a message to you. He said that as long as you can find these snails, even if the foreign boss doesn't offer 5 per snail, he will make up the difference out of his own pocket. You can go ahead and search with confidence. This time, I'm sure you'll make another fortune."

Aesop was being subtle; actually, yesterday the player before him used the word "beg".

Just like him today, as soon as he arrived in Malzamemi, he begged Leo to go to the sea to find snails.

"Leo is now the top star in their lineage."

One person asks the other...it's imperative to get Leo out of the mountains to find snails!

Leo didn't believe such empty promises at all: "Losing money in business? Is he out of his mind?"

Aesop crouched down to be at Leo's eye level, his tone even more humble: "My supplier wants to use this shipment to curry favor with a foreign boss, and he's willing to lose money... We ordinary folks don't understand the thoughts of the rich, but the pay is really good, so you should go and look for him."

Leo looked up at the sky for a while, seemingly deep in thought, before finally agreeing, "Snails are hard to find. I'll only look for two days. If I find them, great; if not, there's nothing I can do."

After saying that, he walked away gracefully.

Behind him... Aesop stood frozen in place: "Did I say that was an ancient snail?"

According to incomplete statistics, there are nearly 1500 species of marine gastropods in the Mediterranean.

Fortunately, Leo has recently been learning about them.

Unfortunately, Leo couldn't remember every single one... It took him three days of reading to determine the target species and how to search for them in order to find the sponge.

After Aesop revealed the clue that purple dye could be extracted, Leo's mind conjured up the names of several creatures, all of which were interesting details he had vaguely remembered from reading recently.

Considering the extremely high purchase price, the snails, and the background of that boss... Leo guesses that the snails were most likely discovered by the Phoenicians 3000 years ago to be able to extract a color called "Tyrpurple," which was later used to dye certain bone snails for the emperor's purple robes.

But I can't remember exactly which type of snail it was, what its habits were, or what its growing environment was like.

However, regardless of the type of snail or its habits, it is certain that this marine species associated with royalty and nobility is hard to find in this era.

The appearance of this order made Leo even more convinced of his previous suspicions—that this was an elaborate scam.

Someone is deliberately collecting rare marine plants and animals with historical narrative backgrounds in order to fleece the wealthy.

But none of this has anything to do with Leo.

He's just a ruthless playboy.

The rule in this industry is that the boss pays him to do things, and you shouldn't ask about what happens afterward.

Leaving the fish market, Leo went to a café, not to drink coffee, but to borrow a book from Andrei's house.

All the previous books were returned one after another, and Leo went to look for more direct and detailed clues.

After hearing Leo's purpose, Andrei immediately left the house full of old men and took Leo home.

The old men were left standing in the coffee shop, looking at each other...

"Did I hear that right? Leo said he's going to look up some information?"

"You heard me right, Leo said he can't go out today if he doesn't read a book."

Do fishermen need to read books before going out to sea?

"You should ask how many fishermen can read."

"Aren't cultured fishermen... even rarer than sponges?"

With the Sandro family's fishing boats about to set sail, many of their business friends and partners have recently come to Malzamemi to visit the Mariani family.

Bianchi was also preoccupied with other things and often stayed at home to entertain guests.

However, he did not forget Leo's request.

Whenever he has the chance, he will help inquire about second-hand fishing boats.

Today, a friend of Sandro's came to visit Marzamemi. After the adults finished their business, Bianchi habitually asked the friend if he had heard any information about fishing boat transactions.

Sandro's face darkened as he stood to the side.

Sandro didn't mind Bianchi asking everyone about the secondhand boat; he knew Bianchi and Leo had a good personal relationship and the two young men often hung out together.

What he cared about was the way Bianchi spoke.

It's possible that in order to help Leo negotiate a lower price, Bianchi would use a long list of prefixes when introducing the buyer—Silverfin Hunter, Sea Urchin Finder, Sicilian Sponge Warrior, Diving Prodigy, Hardworking Hard Worker, etc.

You are a member of the Mariani family, my son Sandro. Is it appropriate for you to praise Leo so much every day?

After the guest left, Sandro gave Bianchi a special instruction: "Just because you say how great Leo is doesn't necessarily help him negotiate a good price. The other party might offer Leo an even higher price because of what you said. Don't introduce Leo like that in the future."

Bianchi, being simple-minded, didn't understand his father's implied meaning and replied, "I didn't mean to help Leo lower the price; it was just a normal introduction."

Bianchi didn't feel that he was Quaglio; it was just an objective fact.

Bianchi, who often hung out with Leo, couldn't possibly have only seen those qualities in him.

Because of the similarity in appearance, he deliberately concealed Leo's desperate performance. In reality, when Leo was fighting desperately, even Anchi could not compete with him.

The eldest brother, Antonino, noticed that his father was in a bad mood and guessed what his father was unhappy about.

But Leo is a child, and Sandro is much older; it wouldn't be meaningful for him to be too blunt.

So the eldest brother used his own words to say a few harsh words on behalf of their father, while also trying to change the subject: "Leo's talent is quite good, but it's not as exaggerated as you say. Okay, I understand about the ship. I'll keep an eye on it for you. Bianchi, you're going out on the ship soon, so don't think about anything else lately."

Bianchi was really clueless, failing to grasp his older brother's intentions. He shared what he had heard that day: "Isn't Leo being a bit dramatic? He spent the entire morning researching at Andrei's house before going out to sea this morning. What fisherman would do that? It's terrifying. And you don't know, Leo really loves taking exams."

"That's enough." Antonino kept winking at his brother.

Bianchi realized something was wrong and immediately fell silent, but it was too late... The Mariani family's big trouble started immediately.

"Father, brother, that's why Leo is so great. He knows how to use advanced knowledge to fish, and he never gets bogged down in the quagmire of 'empiricism.' Gorky said that knowledge is the ladder of mankind, and Einstein said that knowledge is the spark that ignites power. That's why I insist on going to school in the city."

Angie looked at the room full of people: "Leo is a prime example. Look at all the incredible things that have happened to him in the two months he's been in Marzamemi! It proves that you can fish without the experience passed down through generations, and you can catch even more fish! Those things passed down from our ancestors are no longer suitable for this new era!"

"Are you itching for a beating again?" Sandro glared at Angie.

He was about to embark on a voyage to the open ocean and didn't want to get angry with his unfilial son; he just wanted to shut him up.

"Father, we must upgrade our family; we must arm ourselves with knowledge!" Angie said stubbornly.

Angie's older brothers tried to get him to stop, but the kid went into berserk mode and no one could stop his mouth.

"The old age of exploration, belonging to Columbus, Magellan, and Drake, is over!"

"The future belongs to a society of knowledge and information. Whoever knows how to utilize resources and information will control the world."

of!"

"A new age of exploration has begun!"

"This is our chance, Father!!"

As expected, the situation spiraled out of control.

Sandro chased after Ainge, slapping him repeatedly, while his other brothers followed behind to block them.

Antonino shouted at Angie, "Come here! Come quickly and help me restrain Angie!"

Bianchi stood there, hesitant.

But... why control Angie?

I think what he said makes a lot of sense.

"Bianchi, come and help!" the other brothers urged.

Bianchi clenched his fists, but ultimately didn't voice the thoughts in his mind: "They're here."

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