The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

Nicholas's eye for people is just as bad as his eye for choosing goods...

The warehouse is full of slow-moving goods, and this mattress takes up a lot of space. I've disliked it for a long time.

Even though Leo cut the price by almost half, offering only 10 lire, he still agreed to sell.

Not only did he agree to lower the price, but he also personally helped Leo move the cushions to the shipyard. Moreover, when he saw that Leo wanted to rearrange the bedroom, he stayed to help.

We're counting on Leo to take over that warehouse of unsold goods one by one!

Leo didn't think much of it.

The "bookkeeping" service arranged by Solberto ended with the arrival of August. Since he didn't have much cash on him, he assumed that Nicholas had come along to collect money and was also providing a set of "after-sales service".

The shipyard didn't have much to offer guests except for bottled water.

After finishing his work, Leo gave the only chair in the bedroom to Nicholas and lay down on the bed to drink water and rest.

Don't underestimate the power of just adding a small mattress; it instantly elevates the living environment to a whole new level, making it feel more like a king-size bed room with an ocean view.

These 10 li of latte art are truly worth it.

Money really is a wonderful thing!

Nicholas's eyes swept around the dilapidated house, and he clicked his tongue in amazement, saying:

"I've been to the shipyard hundreds of times, and I've never thought this place was so nice. The thought of Solberto selling it is really a bit hard to bear."

Lying in his new bed looking out over the sea felt even better, Leo thought, holding his head in his hands—this is my 'base,' my roots in Sicily, and I can't bear to let Uncle Sorberto sell it.

"How much does this shipyard cost?" Leo asked Nicolas.

Nicholas thought for a moment and replied:

"It seems to cost one or two hundred million lira. What, you want to buy it?"

The second half of the sentence was obviously a joke.

Who would spend so much money to buy a shipyard in such a depressed year?

Leo replied with a smile:

"Yes, I'm saving money."

Leo replied with a smile, and Nicholas naturally assumed he was joking.

But this idea actually took root in someone's mind.

......

Aesop's promise to Leo did cause a stir, but it quickly died down.

To everyone else, this was just a minor incident: a novice fisherman selling a basin of crabs.

Apart from Leo, few fishermen have trouble selling their goods, as they all have good relationships with merchants.

If Aesop had agreed to take 10 tons of crabs from Rio every day, that would certainly be a topic of discussion for three days and three nights.

But a dozen or twenty... never mind, I'd rather use that time to think about how to live my own life well.

This is the mindset of most fishermen, but this incident has deeply touched the fragile hearts of some.

Let's go back to an hour ago.

On the stone steps where the dock meets the village center.

"What gives him the right?!"

Salvatore and his two companions have only been fishing for a little over a year, and they are currently still in the process of begging and pleading with merchants to buy their fish, without any fixed partners.

The greatest "grandfather" among them is, of course, the generous Aesop.

The three of them took turns working for Aesop every day as free laborers, always bowing and scraping when they met.

What did we get in return?

Aesop only gave them a few puffs of secondhand smoke each day.

Why is this newcomer able to establish a long-term cooperative relationship with Aesop?

Although he was very dissatisfied, the Palermo man named Simmons still retained his rationality:

"If Rio doesn't come to the fish market, we might never have another chance to get such a good spot. What are we going to do?"

These three people never gave up on taking Leo's place.

They're just waiting for the right opportunity.

More than a week had passed since Old Paul let the cigarette incident pass by, and the villagers had long forgotten about it. What they were afraid of was Andre, who was sitting next to Leo.

However, a solution has been devised, and it will be implemented tomorrow.

"That kid's too lucky. We're going to make our move tomorrow, and he's not coming," another partner, Vincenzo, said indignantly.

Salvatore glared at him:

"If he says he's lucky, I'll turn on you!"

Salvatore couldn't stand seeing others have good luck, especially Leo, who should have been at an even lower end of the "discrimination chain".

Simmons stood up and urged his partner:

"Let's hurry over there. This might be the only time we get to that spot today."

Leo sold out of crabs ahead of time, and his spot became available.

Salvatore got up and started moving the goods:

"That's not necessarily true. Maybe he'll come back in a few days."

"No way?" Vincenzo gestured with his chin toward Aesop's truck. "Aesop said he'll take as many as he can from now on."

Salvatore muttered to himself as he moved the things:

"Aesop never breaks his promise; what if it's the newcomer who does?"

Simmons leaned over and asked:

"What do you mean?"

Salvatore gestured for them to move their things over first; now was not the time to talk.

"Do you think Aesop will still cooperate with him if he fails to deliver crabs for several days in a row?"

.......

Leo had a good position.

Salvatore and his men brought back a lot of supplies.

Today's income was 70,000 to 80,000 lira more than usual, which is a considerable sum when divided among the three people.

This further solidified their resolve to bring Rio back to the fish market.

After the fish market closed, the three men didn't rush to leave. Instead, they huddled together and whispered among themselves.

As they were talking, Salvatore suddenly realized that something was wrong.

They were talking about something that couldn't be brought to light, and they kept their voices very low.

But he could clearly feel that the voices of his two companions were becoming clearer and clearer, and the atmosphere of whispering was completely gone.

He glanced around and found it too quiet; even the carts carrying goods seemed to have been muted.

Simmons forced out a few words through gritted teeth to remind his teammates:

"It's Rosalia, she's coming over."

Rosalia has returned to her usual self today. Her hair is neatly combed, she is wearing a faded dress, and her rubber shoes are making a clattering sound because the heels are worn out.

The large fish basket behind her made her look particularly thin and short, and with the old, worn-out basin in her arms, she looked like an ordinary country woman.

But everyone also knew what terrifying "destructive power" this frail body could unleash.

As Rosalia drew closer, the three men who were talking about something naughty instinctively looked away, avoiding eye contact with her, and even their breathing became cautious.

Only after Rosalia had walked away did Simmons dare to speak:

"I'm thinking about what happened yesterday again. Luckily, we didn't have any past conflicts with Rosalia, otherwise I really wouldn't be able to sleep soundly."

Vincenzo muttered to himself:

"Rosalia rarely interacts with people, how could we possibly offend her? But her house isn't in this direction, is it?"

Simmons looked around:

"Yes, her house isn't in this direction. She should leave from that direction after the fish market closes. What's she doing here?"

"Alright, forget about Rosalia. We'll just avoid her from now on." Salvatore put his arm around his two brothers and whispered, "Tomorrow's plan is the same, except we'll change our target from Andre to Leo. He lives in the shipyard, so it'll be easier for us to sneak in."

"Will there be any danger? Andrei is easy to deal with. If we are discovered, we can just retreat quickly. He definitely can't catch up with us and can't see our faces clearly. But Leo is a big guy."

"We don't need to be so careful with Leo. So what if he finds out? We can just have a real fight."

"But--"

"But what but! Putting aside how dilapidated the shipyard is, we could go in and out three times without him noticing. Even if he did notice, three against one, how could we possibly lose?"

"Pah! How could I possibly be discovered? Lady Luck is always on my side!"