The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

Let alone 200 million lira, Leo can't even come up with 20 lira right now.

The last bit of donation from Uncle Panini was used to buy a mattress.

He only has the 70,000 to 80,000 yuan he earned from selling crabs in the past two days.

According to the professional quote given by Sorberto, the only thing he could buy was a lead weight to tie around his waist before jumping into the sea.

Leo knew that preparing diving equipment would cost a lot of money, and he was prepared to save money slowly by living frugally for a while.

But the equipment he needed to buy was too much, too complicated, and the budget was too high... completely exceeding his expectations.

Even assuming an ideal daily savings of 30,000 lira, it would take more than two months to acquire the most basic equipment.

But Solberto returned just over two months later!

At that time, I would definitely have to learn and engage in more complex and efficient fishing work.

Leo's original plan was to save up his first pot of gold through diving and fishing, and then use that money to buy a boat or something, officially starting his Mediterranean journey.

After hearing these quotes, my plans were completely thrown into chaos.

Without money to buy equipment for diving and fishing, his income for the past three months has been only 30,000 to 40,000 yuan a day from catching crabs. With this income level, let alone buying a boat, it's difficult to even rent a house in Marzamemi.

His family member, "Crazy Orange," refused to sleep at the shipyard because he disliked the smell of other stray cats.

Leo wanted to end his sleepless nights as soon as possible.

"We need to think of other ways," Leo said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

......

Leo had just left the coffee shop when Andrei came in.

He immediately began searching everywhere for his "little fox".

Old Nino said to Andrei, trembling:

"They keep calling it 'Little Fox, Little Fox,' but they have names."

Andrei's eyes looked over his reading glasses:

"I call Leo the Little Fox because he's smart and can remember things after hearing them only once."

"Heh—" Old Nino chuckled enigmatically.

Andrei walked to his side, his eyes gleaming with wisdom:

"I've taught countless students in my life, and I've seen all kinds of young people. I can tell what kind of person they are at a glance. Do you think I'm wrong to dislike Salvatore? Leo is the kind of person who uses his brain. Nothing can stump this little fox."

Without giving the old men around him a chance to savor the moment, Andrei sat down and said passionately:

"Speaking of foxes, I'm reminded of a myth. Legend has it that Hera quarreled with Zeus and, in her anger, knocked over a golden bowl. The bowl rolled down Mount Olympus and fell into the Aretusa spring on the eastern coast of Sicily. After that, the spring dried up, the earth cracked, and even the crater of Mount Etna emitted ominous black smoke. A clever little fox used its wisdom to save a poor lamb that was almost swallowed by the volcano. After being saved, the lamb transformed into a goddess holding a harp—"

.......

Many people go out to sea in Marzamemi, but few go to the coast to catch crabs.

The villagers basically just grab some when they want to eat; they don't make a living from it, and they certainly don't go at night.

Anyway, Leo never encountered a 'competitor' at night.

When night falls, the entire coast of Marzamemi belongs to Talio alone!

On this day, as usual, Leo found a pleasing stretch of coastline to look for Atlantic blue crabs and seashells.

From a distance, it appeared that someone had occupied that area.

Having spent a long time in Sicily, Leo also learned about the Sicilians' caution and sensitivity.

He planned to go somewhere else, since it was all the same no matter where he was.

Unexpectedly, that person took the initiative to talk to him.

"hello!"

Leo became highly vigilant.

There couldn't be such enthusiastic people in Sicily, especially at night.

This person is definitely up to no good!

He replied with a "hello" and quickened his pace, wanting to get as far away from him as possible.

But the stranger actually caught up with him and continued talking to Leo.

"This place is great; you can grab a handful of mussels and have a whole basinful."

"Good."

"I just caught a fish, look, it's pretty big!"

"That's really good."

"Look, the crabs I caught."

"He's quite fat."

"Why don't you catch some here too? We can keep each other company."

Leo stopped and carefully observed the stranger behind him.

He was about the same age as him, but he was already showing signs of balding. He had a bit of baby fat on his face, and when he spoke, he had a smile on his lips. Even when he wasn't talking, he would stare at you with a smile.

A bad guy... Leo labeled him that.

"No, I prefer to go over there." Leo pointed randomly in a direction and walked faster.

The stranger behind him followed:

"I've caught most of what's around here, I'll go check out the other side."

Leo slammed on the brakes again and stopped the car, saying in a warning tone:

"Don't follow me. Marzamemi is so big, it'll be more comfortable if we catch them separately."

The stranger chuckled and said:

"He's only been here a few days and he's already picked up Sicilian 'bad habits'... Looks like he's suffered quite a bit before."

He continued to explain:

"I'm from the city, just like you, and I can't stand the locals' habit of labeling everyone as a 'bad guy'."

Leo's expression was somewhat unpleasant:

"Do you know who I am?"

There were indeed some outsiders in Malzamemi, but Leo didn't recognize any of them.

The stranger nodded and said:

"I was right next to you when old Paul offered you a cigarette."

Although they were both city dwellers, Leo had no intention of going crabbing with him:

"I'm used to being alone, sorry."

Seeing that Leo insisted on leaving, the stranger became somewhat anxious:

"Okay, okay, actually I wanted to talk to you about something."

Leo silently took a step back:

"What is it?"

On a dark and windy night, a person suddenly appears and follows you relentlessly.

This scene is quite classic.

Even if the other person is a man, it's still quite chilling.

The person on the other end said with a smile:

"I can tell you have some connection with Natale. In that case, why not try cooperating with him?"

"Cooperate on what?" Leo asked in surprise.

The man suddenly spoke faster:

"The crabs and shells you catch every day are exactly what Natale sells. Aesop has promised to buy back as many as Natale brings back. You can sell the crabs and shells you can't sell to Natale and give him a discount. That way, you can both win."

Leo's brow furrowed unnaturally.

I thought this was indeed a good idea, but now I could sell the goods to Aesop without giving up my share of the profits.

Has this person not been to the fish market recently?

Leo had too many questions and didn't reply to him immediately.

The stranger continued talking non-stop, and his speech became faster and faster:

David Ricardo once said that even if one party is better than the other at everything, there's no need for them to do everything themselves. Everyone should just do what has the lowest opportunity cost, and through division of labor and mutual exchange, both sides will benefit more than if they were self-sufficient. David Ricardo also once said... cough cough cough, I've gone off on a tangent. Anyway, you should understand the principle of win-win cooperation, right?

Leo nodded woodenly.

I understand the logic, but I don't understand why you're saying these things.

Seeing Leo's bewildered expression, the stranger sighed in disappointment:

"You clearly didn't understand. How come you, a city dweller, are just as inflexible as my father?"

"Who is your father?" Leo felt the story was getting stranger and stranger.

"Sandro Mariani," the man replied proudly.

Leo blurted out a name:

"Are you Angie Mariani?"