The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

Leo took a nap at the shipyard.

I went to the grocery store after waking up, wanting to buy some things for the kitchen.

Nicholas didn't watch the competition in the morning, but he had heard how amazing Leo the Fish Hunter was, so he immediately turned on two electric fans, hoping Leo would stay a little longer.

"There's a really nice sofa in the warehouse, an antique we found in Syracuse. Would you like to sit on it and try it out?"

Leo carefully selected items:

"No need at the moment, thank you."

Seeing that Leo was only choosing kitchenware, Nicola changed his approach:

"There's still some fresh beef left from this morning's delivery; it's all the best cuts. Shall I cut some for you to have something different tonight?"

Leo took the selected items to have their money calculated:

"No need, I'm not cooking dinner."

"Why don't you go check the warehouse? Maybe they'll find something you need," Nicholas said, pointing behind him.

Leo continued to refuse:

"If I need anything, I'll come to you."

Nicholas turned off the two electric fans:

"14000".

Damn it, what a waste of my feelings.

After paying, Leo walked to the door, then suddenly stopped, turned around, and asked:

Do you have fishing gear in your warehouse?

Nicholas, wiggling his hips, took the plastic bag, which weighed less than two pounds, from Leo's hand.

"I have everything, and even if I don't have it, I can order it for you."

He turned both electric fans back on and turned to ask:

"It must be hot outside, let me get you a glass of ice water?"

......

After buying his things, Leo returned to the shipyard, passing by the Marzamémi Cathedral along the way.

From afar, I saw an elderly woman in a black dress and a young man in a white shirt walk in together.

Leo had met the old woman once at the church entrance; everyone called her "Madame Rosa".

This morning, Mrs. Rosa stood beside Sandro the whole time. Judging from her age, she should be his wife, but Leo didn't remember the young man in the white shirt.

In those days, Sicilian men dressed very uniformly, all wearing linen shirts, with white shirts looking particularly formal, so I took a few extra glances at them.

......

"You just came this morning, and now you're here again to pray with your mother?" The priest was very pleased to see that Bianchi had come twice in one day.

The Lord needs devout children!

Bianchi had recovered and nodded to the priest, saying:

"My mother came to pray before 4 a.m. this morning, and she came again at noon despite the heat... I know she was praying to God to bless me, her troublesome son, so of course I had to stay with her."

Of Mrs. Rosa’s children, Bianchi was the most obedient and often spent time with his mother.

The priest smiled with satisfaction and left the church to the mother and son.

Bianchi sat down next to his mother, closed his eyes, and prayed to heaven.

After an unknown amount of time, I heard my mother speak:

"Bianchi, you don't need to prove anything, nor do you need anyone's affirmation. In the eyes of the Heavenly Father, we are whole and precious from the day we were created, so let it go... You have done enough."

Bianchi opened his eyes.

He, who always obeyed his mother's word, hesitated to give a definite answer.

A sigh of heartache came from beside her.

After a long time, she said to her son:

"Get to know Riodo. That kid is kind, clean, and pure. Maybe one day you'll discover that there's a kind of certainty in this world that doesn't need to be 'proven'."

Although Bianchi didn't understand the meaning behind his mother's words, he still obediently agreed:

"Okay, Mom, I will go."

......

Rosalia and Leo's "shift change" takes place every morning and evening.

Today was her day off, and Leo delivered the equipment to her ahead of time.

Rosalia was drying tuna at the door. She was a little surprised to see Leo arrive so early, but simply nodded.

"Just leave it at the door."

After saying that, he continued with what he was doing.

Leo put down his equipment and fishing gear and asked her:

"Have you found another buyer for the pickled fish?"

Navas and Rosalia have fallen out; Rosalia must have found a new businessman to make pickled fish.

Rosalia shook her head:

"Salted fish doesn't fetch much of a price these days, so I'm making dried tuna."

Leo didn't understand these things, so he asked her:

"Is it also the kind that outside merchants come to buy?"

Rosalia nodded:

"It doesn't sell as well as pickled fish, but every little bit helps."

Leo felt uneasy looking at the tuna scattered on the ground.

Pickled fish only earns a little profit, and dried tuna sounds like it would earn even less.

Rosalia still has to earn so little money... This shows that the extra income from processing fish cannot improve her financial situation, and it also shows that she still has to go out to sea at night.

Leo thought for a moment and said:

"Once I get it back from Mexico, I'll focus on making money and try to get a bigger ship as soon as possible. Maybe then you won't have to go out at night anymore. You can do some less dangerous things during the day, and with the help of cleaning seafood, we can make a living."

You have received a mission: Upgrade the Armory.

[System Note: You are about to meet a group of dangerous individuals. It's best to have something in your pocket when meeting dangerous people. Even if you don't have the opportunity to take it out, as long as the other party knows you have it, you have the right to negotiate.]

[Quest Reward: Reputation +1 to 99999]

Leo's pupils trembled.

Is this an attempt to force me to build nuclear weapons...? Trying to entice me with such high numbers?

Rosalia didn't notice Leo's unusual behavior; she was diligently drying the tuna.

"You're not focused on making money yet?"

The fish you brought back could fill a small fleet of two or three people...

Leo temporarily set aside his research on the new task and replied:

"Of course, we're still in the exploratory stage."

Rosalia stopped what she was doing and slowly turned her head to look at Leo.

She already has PTSD from that sentence.

Do you still have the energy left?

Leo smiled and shrugged:

"The seabed isn't just about fish. The most important source of income from diving and fishing is sea urchins. You told me all this. Anyway... life will definitely get better and better."

......

"Life will definitely get better and better."

These words lingered in Rosalia's mind for a long time.

After Simon left, Rosalia repeated this sentence to herself every day.

But after all these years... how has life gotten any better?

She still lives in this dilapidated neighborhood that has long been deserted, the front door of her house is still the same, and she still spends dozens of hours fishing for the 50,000 to 60,000 lira she earns from dried fish. She remains the only female fisherman in Marzamemi who goes out to sea...

That statement is nothing but self-deception.

As the sun set, Rosalia arranged the fish, planning to leave early that day.

Leo has no fish to hunt or clean, so he can go out to sea sooner.

As she was checking her equipment before leaving, she suddenly noticed something unusual.

Among the fishing gear that Leo brought back that afternoon, there were surprisingly a few new items.

Rosalia inspected them all and found that these were the oldest and most in need of replacement.

She squatted on the ground, staring at the fishing gear for a long time, then suddenly hugged her arms tightly:

"Simon, let's hope this isn't just wishful thinking... our lives might really be getting better."