The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

Leo brought quite a few fish, but many of them were not very valuable; the main purpose was to create a lively atmosphere.

It took Aesop a long time to figure out the prices, as each type of fish had a different price, and there were some he never bought.

But since he had already accepted all the offers, he couldn't refuse them, and he was seething with anger as he weighed the items.

He held the 5 lira in his hand, intending to give Leo a good "lecture" and tell him to stick to catching crabs instead of getting involved in such complicated things.

It's hard to imagine that this was done intentionally; it's more like a fork being plunged in, and whichever one it lands on is the one that gets stuck.

If that's the case, it might not be as efficient or reliable as catching crabs.

What if I'm not so lucky tomorrow?

Aesop raised his finger, his mouth poised to speak, when out of the corner of his eye he saw a faded dress come into view.

Having heard that Rosalia is currently enjoying great popularity, Aesop wants to show her some respect and teach Leo a lesson after she leaves, so as not to offend her old lady's ears.

Unexpectedly, Rosalia came here looking for Leo.

"How are sales?"

Rosalia came to see the fish, but she didn't know if Leo had cleaned them properly yesterday.

A large crowd had gathered in the vicinity early in the morning. Rosalia disliked crowds, so she waited until most of the onlookers had dispersed before coming over.

Leo laughed and said:

"I'm settling the accounts now. I've handled them the way you taught me, and none of them are damaged."

Thinking of something, Leo looked at Aesop:

"There shouldn't be any bad ones, right?"

Rosalia looked at Aesop with concern, just like Leo.

Aesop paused for a moment, then shook his head:

"It's not broken."

He handed the 5 lire in his hand to Leo, and then took out a 5000 lire note from his pocket and gave it to him:

"You even cleaned it up and delivered it here, so here's a tip for your trouble. Take it."

"Thank you." Leo waved the money at Rosalia twice, looking very happy.

Seeing Rosalia's doting smile, Aesop patted Leo on the shoulder and encouraged him:

"come on."

After saying that, he drove away.

.......

Encouraged by Aesop, Leo became even more motivated.

But there are a few things to do before that.

He first went to the stall at the end of the corridor.

Rosalia had anticipated Leo's arrival and even guessed his purpose:

"I've thought it through. What you call 'win-win' is actually just giving me equipment money, just with a nicer name. Simon and I won't take your money."

Leo, with an expression that said, "I knew you'd say that," crouched down to negotiate with her:

"Okay, let's try another way of cooperating."

Rosalia's attitude was firm:

"I wouldn't take this money no matter what."

Leo shrugged, looking helpless.

"I need someone to help me prepare the fish. Can you do that?"

Fearing the system might malfunction, "Fairy Sister" assigned him time-limited tasks every day, such as "Destroy the Corpse and Cover Up the Evidence" and "Clean Up the Crime Scene."

So, is he still not going to sleep?

Diving is very physically demanding, so you must ensure you get enough rest. He'll die if he does this every day.

Replacing the shipyard's lighting equipment is also a considerable expense, so it's better to outsource the job.

Rosalia has always had a habit of handling fish and even marinating them. She can handle such large tuna, so this small fish is no problem for her. Perhaps this is even one of her strengths... After all, Rosalia has a built-in buff when she has a knife.

Rosalia shook her head, rejecting Leo's offer:

"You handled it very well."

Leo explains:

"Forty or so is barely acceptable, any more than that won't work."

"How much more can there be?" Rosalia thought this was just another of Leo's wordplay.

She didn't know that Leo had only been out for a few hours yesterday, and like everyone else, he thought that those 40-odd fish were his entire day's catch.

"It should be quite a lot, but we'll know the exact amount tonight." Leo stood up, intending to leave. "So? Want to do it?"

Rosalia looked at the sea and sighed silently.

I thought to myself, he really is still a child, with such high aspirations.

But since he's just a child, there's no need to take him seriously. Just go along with what Leo said:

"We'll see how it goes tonight. If it's a lot, I'll help you."

As Leo left the corridor, an image of a baby face popped into his head.

This person wasn't completely obsessed; when they first met, Angie had already mentioned the importance of division of labor.

It actually came in handy.

......

After leaving the fish market, Leo went to the coffee shop.

Andrei must have been there at that time.

I promised the old man yesterday that I would bring him good news when I got back, but I was too busy last night and didn't have time to go.

When Andrei saw Leo appear, he didn't dare mention what happened yesterday, for fear that he would lose face.

But Leo took the initiative to talk about what he had seen at sea the day before, praising how clear the Mediterranean Sea was and saying that he would like to take Andre diving there sometime.

A person who had just returned from the fish market listened for a while and couldn't help but ask about the details of the harpoon. Andrei listened attentively, unusually, without interrupting.

After Leo left, Andrei began to wreak havoc, telling everyone he met:

"Have you heard? There's a really good fisherman in Malzamemi, huh? You don't know him? It's that Leo, the young man who's always hanging out with me! Right, right, I saved the lemon ice cream for him yesterday! Fishing underwater is much harder than finding sea urchins. Don't believe me? Let me tell you, this story goes back more than three thousand years—"

Leo had already made a name for himself at the fish market, and with Andrei tirelessly spreading the word, by noon the news that "Marzamemi has produced a very skilled fish hunter" had reached most of the villagers' ears.

The news naturally reached a large house near the sea.

......

After the heavy rain, the Marzamemi people began to dry tomatoes, and every household's yard was filled with chopped tomato corpses.

Aurelio said to Bianchi, who was squatting on the ground turning the tomatoes over:

"That's roughly the situation. Enzo went to find other candidates. If you really want to go, you should go find Sandro. If he agrees, there won't be any more messy issues."

Bianchi is not tall, only about 1.7 meters. He is not particularly strong, but he looks very "hard", like olive wood dried by the sea breeze, with every muscle tightly pressed together.

He inherited his looks from his father Sandro, with a sharp jawline and prominent cheekbones, but he hasn't been worn down by time, still retaining a youthful innocence and a spirited demeanor.

"Dad's been worrying a lot about Angie lately, don't bother him anymore, especially with something so small." Bianchi squatted down to check the tomatoes. "Let Enzo go look for it, he won't be able to find it anyway. As long as you insist you don't want to go, I'll definitely be the one going to Messina this year."

Aurelio crouched down and whispered:

"Don't blame me for being nosy, but harpooning with tall masts is too dangerous. If Enzo can find someone else, you should just stay home this year. The deep-sea fishing season is coming soon, so you won't have to worry about not having a chance to prove yourself."

The autumn/winter sea voyage season in Sicily begins in August and lasts until the end of the year.

Large migratory fish such as tuna are active in recent months, and sea conditions are relatively stable.

"Dad can go to Messina for over ten years straight, why can't I?" Bianchi grinned, revealing his neat teeth.

A shark tooth pendant fell out of his collar; it was his proudest "medal," a shark he had caught himself when he was 12 years old.

"Bianchi—" A kind voice came from inside the house; it was Mrs. Rosa.

Bianchi stood up and shouted:

"Mom's here!"

He used the word 'mamma,' a term usually used by children, but Bianchi, who is 24 years old, still insists on calling his mother that.

"Don't worry, it definitely won't be your turn this year," Bianchi reassured Aurelio confidently before leaving. "I'll be leaving next week."