The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

Rosalia dislikes owing favors.

This matter cannot be resolved simply by Leo saying, "We're even."

Leo was a very good swimmer, better than any local fisherman Rosalia knew.

It's true that some skilled fishermen can rescue people from undercurrents, but judging from her physical condition, Leo rescued her in a very short time—that's his skill.

If even she can make money from the sea, then Leo has even more reason to do so.

But she knew very well how difficult it was for outsiders to integrate into the local fishing community. Even she, who rarely interacted with people, knew that local fishing boats did not want crew members from other places.

Without anyone to guide or help him, how will Leo get out?

So her chosen way of "returning the favor" was to ask Leo if he needed any help with his voyage.

She has no money, but in this matter... she might help him.

......

Leo definitely needs Rosalia's help!

The fishing spots have been found, and what can be caught has been investigated. The current difficulties lie in acquiring fishing gear and experience at sea.

Rosalia might not know as much as Leo... but she should be able to help with equipment and fishing gear acquisition.

"Do you have any cheap equipment you can sell me?" Leo asked.

Rosalia shook her head:

"I only have one set of equipment, and it's been used for many years."

Leo scratched his head, thinking to himself that this was troublesome.

We can't expect Rosalia to give up her things just to repay a favor, can we?

Suddenly, Leo thought of a solution:

"If you go out to sea at night, won't the equipment be left unused during the day? Why don't you rent the equipment to me during the day?"

It's not appropriate for Leo to team up with Rosalia to go to sea.

One of them was a widow, and the other was a man from out of town.

Although Rosalia is almost old enough to be Leo's mother, their constant companionship might cause some gossip in the village. Today's situation is justified.

Rosalia's concern for her reputation needs no further explanation; just a few days ago, she fought someone over a comment that "widows are easy to bully."

Her deep love for her husband surpassed everything else; otherwise, she wouldn't have endured so many years of hardship without remarrying.

Moreover, in such a united place as Sicily, how could no one want to lend her a hand and help her out?

Presumably, all of them were rejected by this stubborn woman.

Leo knew that no matter how much he tried to persuade her, she would insist on going out to sea at night.

However, this would leave her equipment idle during the day, giving Leo time to use it.

Rosalia shook her head with a complicated expression:

"Are you sure you can find sea urchins during the day? Sea urchins are the biggest source of income for diving fishing, as they hide in the reefs during the day."

Rosalia is willing to help Leo, but she can't solve this problem either... otherwise she wouldn't risk going out at night.

Leo sighed silently.

He certainly knew that finding sea urchins during the day was very difficult for novice fishermen, which was a sign of inexperience.

But this problem can't be solved in the short term, and he values ​​safety more than earning a little less.

"Experience takes time to accumulate, and I want to give it a try."

Rosalia thought for a few seconds and asked:

What do you need?

As Leo rowed, he checked the list of fishing gear and equipment with Rosalia.

Some things he hadn't remembered or that Solbert had overlooked were all sorted out with Rosalia's reminders.

This verification yielded very fruitful results—

Leo only needs to buy a few pieces of equipment, such as a wetsuit, fins, and a snorkel; everything else can be from Rosalia, including this little wooden boat!

"Then let's talk about the rental price."

Back in Marzamemi, Rosalia was still not fully recovered and was still trembling slightly, so Leo pushed the small boat onto the beach by himself.

Rosalia stood by the side of the boat and said:

"Since I'm returning a favor, there's no reason for me to accept money. Let me know in advance when you need it."

Rosalia also has her own rules—it's not that she won't take a single penny, but that no one can take a single penny from her; she must keep her promises, and she never promises anything she can't do.

Lending equipment is to repay the favor Leo did for saving my life; I would never try to make a profit from this, no matter how poor I am.

"How can that be?" Leo shook his head. "I won't dare use your equipment if you do that."

Rosalia's fishing gear and equipment were left to her by her husband, Simon.

When there were men in the family, their family was not poor. Although the things they owned were a bit old, they were not ordinary items.

According to the quote given by Solberto, this fishing gear and equipment should be worth at least several million lira, possibly even tens of millions.

How can you not pay?

Rosalia stared at Leo without saying a word; she was expressing her protest through her actions.

After pushing the boat, Leo wanted to have a good argument with her, but he glanced at her and immediately looked away.

Rosalia's face was completely bloodless, her wet hair clung to it in clumps, and two faintly visible eyes stared out from the middle... Although she wasn't holding her signature weapon, the rope-cutting knife, the visual impact was still quite strong.

Leo dared not confront the stubborn widow head-on, but he felt bad about taking advantage of her for free. After thinking it over, he had an idea.

"Well then, since I used so much of your equipment, the money I earned must have been thanks to you. I'll give you a share of the profits from the sales, so we can both benefit." Leo pictured that chubby baby face in his mind.

"Win-win?" Rosalia repeated.

Leo nodded:

"Yes, it's a win-win situation. I don't invest any money, and you don't lose money either. We can both make money together. Sandro knows this theory too, and he's been studying it recently."

You're welcome, Angie.

Rosalia began to waver after Sandro was brought out of the picture.

Leo helped her sort out the relationships:

"We were talking about equipment because you wanted to repay a favor to me, so we didn't want to make money from it. Now you're not making money from renting equipment, and I'm not spending money to rent equipment. You see, both of our needs are met."

Rosalia wasn't very educated, and Leo's words completely confused her.

One moment she thought it made sense, the next she felt Leo was lying to her.

Thoughts come and go, a helpless complaint:

"Why do I feel like I owe you more and more favors?"

Leo chuckled and said:

"Isn't it all about 'owing each other' between friends? Just settle for what you owe each other, there's no need to be so calculating."

Rosalia paused while organizing the equipment.

friend?

Friends haven't been a part of her life for a long time.

"Alright, it's settled then!" Leo urged, pointing to the distant sky. "Even I can tell what that cloud means—it's about to rain, let's go home!"

.......

The heavy rain finally reached the eastern coast of Sicily that night.

The annoying hail disturbed many people's sweet dreams, but Leo slept exceptionally well that night because the diving and fishing project was finally settled!

After agreeing on the equipment and boat with Rosalia, you only need to save another 500,000 to 600,000 lira to go fishing at sea.

How could I not be happy with such a large budget reduction?

He fell asleep with a smile on his lips, and that night he had many bizarre and fantastical dreams, some in fits and starts.

I dreamt that I dived into the sea and encountered a huge, glittering treasure. The mermaid said that she would give me the treasure if I could fulfill one of her wishes. Her wish was to hear 100 stories from her butler, who had the face of Andrei.

He also dreamt that he was rowing a small boat across a golden ocean. The boat was very fast, but there wasn't a single wave on the surface. Small white fish with wings jumped into his fishing boat one after another. There were so many fish that the boat was overturned. Later, the fish gathered into a white flying ship and carried Leo on his way. The flying fish chattered and boasted about their value. Some were worth 100 million lira, and some were worth 200 million lira. They were vying to let Leo sell it first.

Leo also dreamt that he was standing at the bow of an absurdly large ship, with hundreds, even thousands, of people waving at him from below. One girl nestled her head on his shoulder, saying she was a little reluctant to leave. He turned his head to see who she was, but he couldn't make out her no matter how hard he looked...

......

He had wonderful dreams all night and slept soundly. When he opened his eyes the next day, Leo didn't want to get out of bed at all.

I dawdled as I got up to wash up, thinking I'd go to a coffee shop for a while, but then I remembered that it had rained heavily last night, and the shops might not even be open today.

So he took two tomatoes from the basket, cut a few slices of bread, and planned to fill his stomach before going back to continue his sweet dream.

But just as I finished cutting the bread, I heard someone timidly ask from the shipyard workshop, "Is anyone here?"

The speaker was a girl, and Kolio couldn't think of any girl from the village who would come to the shipyard to find him.

When they went outside, they were dumbfounded.

"Rukia?"

Rukia breathed a sigh of relief and smiled sweetly.

"It was really hard to find you!"