The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

Lucia and Vera deliver goods to Marzamemi every week, and the meat they delivered today was from them.

They not only supplied grocery stores and tobacco shops, but also partnered with several restaurants in Marzamemi.

To finish their work quickly, Vera and Lucia split up.

Vera went to two restaurants in the center of the village, while Lucia went to the "Lighthouse," which was a little further away.

As soon as Rukia entered the "Lighthouse," she was overwhelmed by the fragrance—the intoxicating aroma relentlessly assaulted her brain.

Lucia has been in Sicily for over a year and visits the lighthouse once or twice a month. Monica and this beautiful woman are already quite familiar with each other.

The little glutton, thoroughly enjoying her meal, excitedly described to the other little glutton how incredibly good her mother's cooking was, making Rukia even more distraught... the 'cravings' in her stomach were constantly howling.

"Aren't you going to order anything to eat, sister? My mom's cooking is amazing." Monica's little mouth glistened with oil.

Rukia shook her head:

"I'm not hungry, maybe next time."

Noto, where she lived, was a small town, not a major city in Sicily. Her delivery job was barely enough to make ends meet, and the cost of one meal outside was enough to feed her for two days.

"Alright then!" Monica sensibly tidied up the table.

Lucia left the dangerous house to wait for Elena outside, and soon encountered Leo at the door.

"Is it you?"

"It's you!"

The two spoke in unison, but their tones and expressions were slightly different.

Rukia's behavior was unnatural and she kept dodging.

Leo, on the other hand, looked relieved.

"Yes, it's me! I've been looking for you for ages!"

"What's wrong?" Rukia asked, a hint of wariness in her eyes.

Leo got straight to the point:

"I'd like to discuss something with you. If there's anything I'd like to order in the future, can I contact you?"

Lucia shook her head; she believed Vera would also refuse.

"We only handle delivery; we can't help you carry things."

"But didn't you bring the things the grocery store ordered?" Leo asked her.

Rukia replied seriously:

"We only supply Marzamemi with 'non-urgent and non-frivolous' goods such as dried goods, spices, pasta, and canned goods. Oh, meat is an exception."

Leo was overjoyed:

"What a coincidence, these are the same things I might need to order."

What kind of ambition could a gluttonous boy have?

He just wants to eat something good!

Leo isn't a good cook, so he often needs to buy fast food.

But the variety of fast food products in grocery stores is limited, so even when eating junk food, you have to change things up.

Rukia secretly pursed her lips.

Is that so?

That's definitely something I can bring over for him...

No, no, no, Rukia, you can't let your guard down just because he's handsome!

"I'm sorry, that's not part of my job description," Rukia refused cleanly and decisively.

Leo gave a sly smile and lowered his voice, saying:

"I won't let you do this for nothing. How about I give you some 'benefits'?"

Rukia blinked a few times secretly.

With kickbacks... wouldn't life be a little easier then?

But if someone finds out, won't it cause me trouble?

Leo continued 'thoughtfully':

"Giving you money directly might cause you trouble. Marzamemi is a coastal area, and no one will suspect anything if you bring back some seafood every time you go back."

Seafood is only cheap in coastal villages and at the docks.

Prices go up in inland cities, and given Rukia's financial situation, she can only afford to eat there a few times a month.

This time... she was genuinely tempted.

Leo subtly moved two steps toward Rukia, lowering his voice even further:

"We have a wide variety of seafood here, including whelks, mussels, and large crabs..."

Beneath Rukia's seemingly calm surface, a raging storm has already begun:

Grilled conch, baked mussels with cream, and large crab chunks mixed with pasta!

Leo then continued to increase his bets:

"Mussels, scallops, bird-tail clams..."

The voice in her ear was like the whisper of a demon, gradually pulling Rukia into the "hell of gourmet food".

Seeing that Rukia remained unmoved, Leo decided to offer her a "pie in the sky".

After working for so many years, I haven't earned much money, but my ability to make empty promises is top-notch.

"Sea bream, grouper, sea bass."

"Tuna, barracuda, amberjack."

"Horseshoe snails, bell snails, olive snails."

"Cuttlefish, squid, baby squid..."

The little glutton finally gave in, much to his own chagrin.

She wrote down a phone number and handed it to Leo:

"Call ahead if you want to order anything. If it's nothing too troublesome, I can bring it for you. I come once a week."

Leo happily accepted the small note, which bore her name, Lucia Moretti, and a string of numbers written in neat handwriting.

Rukia's handwriting is very beautiful, truly living up to her name.

Leo already knew the name of the person opposite him, but Rukia didn't seem to know it.

Just as she was about to introduce herself, Elena called Lucia over from the lighthouse entrance, as there seemed to be a problem with the quantity of the goods.

Rukia returned to the lighthouse upon hearing the sound.

"Let's talk about it next time..." Leo thought to himself as he watched her departing figure.

.......

After delivering the goods to the lighthouse, Lucia went to the village center to meet Vera.

Vera grinned mischievously as soon as she saw her:

"I did ask for you. Leo was just at the coffee shop, but I don't know where he is now. What a pity. I was hoping to create an opportunity for you two to bump into each other."

As soon as Vera arrived this week, Malzamemi found out about Leo's name.

I've already spent an hour or two this afternoon talking to Rukia, calling her "Liona" and "Liona".

That's why Rukia would act awkwardly and avoid Leo when they met at the lighthouse.

"Who wants to run into him?" Because of a secret deal she made with Leo, Lucia didn't want to encounter anything like Veratti and the others.

But Vera wasn't going to let her off so easily:

"You really don't want to? Then don't come to Malzamemi anymore. I'll have Aldai come with me, and you can take Potopalo there regularly."

Their delivery routes are not fixed; Rukia might come this week, but someone else might come next week.

"No!" Rukia protested loudly.

I have to deliver this route!

My conch, mussels, crabs, sea bream, grouper, sea bass...

Vera laughed so hard she could barely breathe:

"So you want to come to Malzamemi... Let me guess why... Ah, that's hard to guess, what is it?"

"Rukia!"

A voice sounded behind the two of them.

Leo ran over with a large bag containing more than a dozen Atlantic blue crabs.

The crabs at the fish market this morning didn't sell, and he couldn't eat that many, so he decided to give them to Rukia to strengthen their friendship.

And he had made such a big promise to the girl, he felt a little embarrassed... He just didn't expect Rukia to reunite with Vera so soon.

The matter of "earning extra money" was a little secret between the two of them, so when Leo handed over the crab, he said:

"You forgot to take the crabs you bought."

Lucia's eyes widened at the sight of the crabs, but with Vera around, she couldn't ask Leo why the "kickback" had been sent before any orders were placed.

And this "kickback" is way too much!

Leo winked at her, as if to say, "Hurry up and take it, so as not to arouse suspicion."

Seeing that Lucia refused to take it, he forcefully shoved the bag into her hands:

"It's very plump, I like it and will buy it again next time."

After saying that, she ran away quickly, not giving Rukia a chance to return the item.

Vera's mouth gaped open wider than an apple, and she pointed at the departing Leo, asking Lucia:

"When...when did you two meet?"

Rukia was so moved she was completely bewildered.

Even a gluttonous cat has its own rules—whoever gives me food is a good person!

She replied confidently:

"Mind your own business. I'm the one who will guide Marzamemi down this path in the future!"

Rukia looked at the crab in her hand and thought—

I've already received the "kickback," should I bring him something next week?