The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

That night, Leo tossed and turned, unable to sleep, his mind filled with thoughts of the harpoon.

I drifted off to sleep, but something on my mind made it hard to sleep soundly, so I got up at 4 a.m. and went back to the workshop.

The forging workshop has a back door, so you don't have to go through Aurelio's house.

Aurelio had led Leo through the main entrance to show him off his treasures, but Leo's mindset has changed. He now recognizes that these old things have a purpose in being shown off... and a very meaningful one at that.

Before even entering the workshop, I could see lights were on inside.

Leo pushed open the door and went in, finding Aurelio already busy at work:

Why are you up so early?

After a good night's sleep, Aurelio regained his energetic appearance and seemed to have forgotten about last night's events, saying passionately:

"I was dreaming about spearing fish, and when I woke up I suddenly remembered a small problem that I need to solve before I officially start today."

He turned back and chuckled twice at Leo, his eyes still burning, but this time not with sadness, but with confidence:

"I have a feeling we'll succeed today!"

Leo flashed a bright smile.

He didn't know what Aurelio was like before, but he hoped to see more of Aurelio as he was now in the future.

.......

Before five o'clock, Bianchi also pushed open the door and came in.

He thought he would be the first to arrive, but he ended up being the last.

"You're all up so early."

Leo asked him:

"You're here so early too?"

We did agree yesterday to start early today.

But all three of them arrived way too "early"!

Bianchi took off his white shirt and folded it neatly.

"My mother is used to getting up early to go to church. I took her there today, and she came over after a short while."

Aurelio needed a tool and wanted Bianchi to hand it to him, but no one answered after he called out twice.

Looking up, I saw Bianchi staring blankly at the fire, clutching the shark tooth pendant.

"Did Sandro say something about you again?" Aurelio asked as he walked over.

He watched Bianchi grow up and immediately guessed the possibility.

The furnace made Bianchi's face glow red.

"Last night, my father asked me if I had gained anything from helping out these past few days, and I couldn't say anything... He said that I had taken up precious time preparing for the sailing season but had gained nothing, and that I was wasting my time."

Aurelio sighed:

"You go back, Leo and I can manage on our own."

Sandro is good in every way... except he's too strict with his sons.

Bianchi countered:

"No way! We agreed that the three of us would stick together until the end! How can I be a deserter?"

"I'm afraid Sandro will scold you..."

"My father was telling me this for my own good. Maybe I haven't grasped the true meaning of blacksmithing yet. Let me try again. I want to try some different jobs and see if I can gain any new insights."

"Stop speaking up for him."

"No, it's really me who can't..." Bianchi also lost his usual fierce demeanor.

Behind the two, Leo picked out a hammer from the tool rack.

He uses this hammer every day, but this time it felt unusually heavy.

It turns out that Bianchi had to bear such immense family pressure to come and help... This was information Leo didn't know before.

That morning, Leo worked extra hard at his iron-hammering, but his chaotic thoughts were gradually becoming clearer.

As one of the hammers slammed down, he let out a loud shout, as if releasing a pent-up emotion:

"We're sure to make a really powerful harpoon!"

Aurelio and Bianchi were startled by the commotion. They looked over at the same time, but seeing that there was no further development, they turned their faces back to their work.

Little did they know... the significance of the Godfather's promise being worth a thousand pieces of gold.

......

Today is the big day for officially harpooning.

The three cobblers arrived early and made a good start.

But the late-arriving sun brought bad news.

Having suffered a loss the day before, Bonciniore woke up the next day and went around the village spreading the news of Aurelio's forging "deeds".

Even a fork can't scoop out ice cream.

A bite taken with the knife leaves a tooth mark.

A fruit knife was accidentally dropped on the ground, and the tip broke off... and so on.

He certainly exaggerated some of his claims, but Aurelio did indeed have many failed forgings.

The human brain has a "negative preference" property.

Take reading as an example: when I see positive reviews, I quickly scroll past them without them leaving any impression on me.

But when you see negative reviews, your brain subconsciously activates the protective mechanism of "How could I find such a bad book good?", which then develops into—does my taste have a problem if I think it's good?

Under this logic, these rumors influenced the attitudes of many villagers towards harpoons.

The other day I felt that Aurelio was talking about techniques they couldn't understand, which sounded pretty impressive, like he was about to create a "divine artifact".

But now that we've thought it over... what kind of amazing artifact can three fishermen make?

There is indeed a high probability of it "crashing"!

Visitors today might make a few jokes without thinking, and calling Aurelio "Master Forger" is somewhat sarcastic.

Last night, the three of them were full of confidence in the future. They had summarized so much experience and conducted so many tests, and they firmly believed that they would succeed today.

However, only a dozen hours later... the atmosphere in the forging workshop was extremely oppressive.

Because now they only have one option: success. Failure would make them a laughing stock in the village.

......

Before the formal forging, Bianchi and Aurelius went to the church to pray—asking the three Fates to make the 'life chapter' woven by this harpoon go smoothly.

Even so, after the shaping process was completed, no one dared to go to the crucial quenching stage.

"You can come here," Bianchi said to Aurelio, stepping back to the doorway. "I failed the first two times I tried to quench it."

Bianchi wasn't retreating or afraid; he simply understood that this step couldn't be achieved through mere bravery and desperate effort.

He was afraid that he wasn't careful enough and that it would affect the success rate of quenching.

If it's his own harpoon, then go for it!

But this harpoon represents the culmination of three people's hard work... it cannot be lost.

"We've made improvements today, so our chances of success are very high!" Aurelio encouraged Bianchi.

Bianchi was results-oriented and didn't want to try anything.

Aurelio was genuinely nervous...

Leo is the owner of the harpoon, and Bianchi is there to help.

Almost all the rumors circulating in the village were directed at him... The pressure was immense.

"Get the seawater ready." Leo picked up the tongs and said calmly, "I'll do it."

Leo bravely stepped forward, and Aurelio and Bianchi quickly began to prepare.

They want to use a 'gradient hardening' method—

First, the three fork tips are sea-quenched to increase their hardness, and then the fork body is heated and oil-quenched to increase its toughness.

Seeing the harpoons in the furnace turn a deep cherry red, Aurelio habitually asked Leo:

"There shouldn't be any problems, right?"

While closely monitoring the harpoon's color status, Leo answered Aurelio:

"You said we've made many improvements this time, and we're sure to succeed, right?"

The rumors circulating outside made Aurelio less confident, and hesitantly changed his tune:

"We can't say it will definitely succeed, but we can say the chances of success are very high."

Leo then asked Bianchi:

"You said there's nothing wrong with the clay I wrought, right?"

Bianchi hesitated for a moment:

I think there's no problem.

Leo deftly picked up the orange-red steel fork with pliers and walked towards the seawater tank.

"Then what is there to worry about? I believe in you."