"Pastor Yarlin?"
Hearing Xu Yun say that name, William froze for a moment.
Then he opened his left hand and rapped his right fist against it.
"Right! We can ask Pastor Yarlin!"
During the sixteenth-century Reformation in Europe, Protestantism emerged from the Roman Catholic Church and became one of the three major branches of Christianity in later generations.
Objectively speaking, Protestantism in the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries truly lived up to the word "new," both in its reputation and its actions.
The best-known example was that it abolished indulgences. Protestants believed people could communicate with God themselves, without a priest acting on their behalf. In other words, they eliminated the "middleman" from the practice of faith.
The Protestant church in Britain was more complicated. Although Protestantism took hold in Britain after the Reformation, the reason had little to do with doctrine.
Britain became Protestant simply because the king wanted a divorce, and the Catholic Church refused, saying there was no chance.
So the king simply abandoned Catholicism and made himself the supreme leader of British Protestantism, a tradition that continued to this day.
That meant if the long-distance runner dropped out first, his successor would also become the supreme leader of Protestantism.
As a result, many Protestant pastors in Britain were connected to the royal court in some way. They weren't merely Puritans, and they were allowed to own property openly.
Whether that was good or bad was a matter of opinion, but under the rules at least, Protestant pastors at this time could go into business with others.
As for how much credibility pastors had at this point in history...
Well, it wasn't as outrageous as the Middle Ages, when they could fool the public at will, but getting people to buy things on a livestream would still have been a breeze.
Especially around Lincolnshire, Yarlin enjoyed immense prestige among both officials and ordinary people.
It was like having the local Xu Cunxin recommend cheap cookware to a group of middle-aged women—the conversion rate would be absurd.
So when Xu Yun suggested Yarlin, William and Little Ox agreed at once to bring him in as a partner.
Early the next morning.
Grantham.
St. Titus Didymus Church.
The white-haired Yarlin was dressed in coarse homespun clothes, laboriously wiping down a chair after a service. In the choir room not far behind him, the choir was practicing a hymn.
Yarlin's full name was Yarlin Dilat. He was fifty-nine and had graduated from Cambridge St. John's College. He had been a licensed pastor for more than thirty years.
Besides his clerical duties, he also held a political office in the town of Grantham, and his family owned a sizable estate in North Lincolnshire.
But Yarlin's private life was far from extravagant. It was, in fact, rather quiet.
His days were spent reading scripture and praying, or teaching the children at Sunday school. He ate and slept at the church, and his conduct was exactly as one might expect from his appearance.
After all, Protestantism had split off from Catholicism. Though it would accumulate plenty of scandals over the next century or two, in its early years it was relatively untainted.
For example, Yarlin had helped Little Ox get into Trinity College, and the letter of recommendation had even used Yarlin's name in its heading.
Of course.
Even in this era, people like Yarlin were rare. Most others had one worldly desire or another.
"Knock, knock, knock—"
Just as Yarlin was about to return to the prayer room to read the Holy Book, someone knocked at the church door.
Yarlin quickly set down the rag, cleared his throat, and called out:
"May God have mercy! Coming, coming!"
It was Tuesday, not a regular day for services, but Yarlin wasn't surprised to have visitors.
Even in later generations, people often visited European churches during the week, usually to confess, seek guidance, or deal with a funeral or a celebration.
Yarlin hurried to the door, took out his key, and unlocked it.
As a shaft of light poured in, a faint glow fell across his homespun clothes. He looked a little like Gandalf the Grey from The Lord of the Rings.
He first raised a hand to shield his eyes, giving them a moment to adjust to the light. When he recognized the visitors, he raised his brows in surprise.
"Oh, my God! Mr. William, Little Isaac, and Mr. Fat Fish, right? What brings you here?"
Across from him, Xu Yun's mouth twitched.
Damn, does that name really roll off the tongue that easily?
Looking at Yarlin's surprised face, William and Little Ox stepped forward one after the other to embrace him, then said:
"Pastor Yarlin, there's something we'd like to discuss with you. Could we come in?"
Yarlin's gaze swept quickly over the three of them. He nodded.
"Of course. This way, please."
With that, he led them into the church and showed them into a reception room.
The room was simply furnished, with only a few benches, a table, and an oil lamp. A few books and letters lay on the table.
"Hallelujah!"
After taking his seat, Yarlin glanced curiously at William and asked:
"Mr. William, I don't often see you here at this hour. Has something happened?"
Then he noticed the joy William could barely contain. A sudden thought struck him, and he turned toward Little Ox in understanding.
"Let me guess. Little Isaac and Lisa are getting engaged, so you've come to discuss a wedding venue?"
"No, no!"
Little Ox couldn't sit still at that. He waved his hands frantically.
"I didn't—I haven't. Don't make things up, Pastor Yarlin!"
Yarlin paused, then glanced at Xu Yun and seemed to think of something else.
"Then is it Lisa and Mr. Fat Fish?"
"That's not it, either."
Yarlin's breathing stopped for a few seconds. He looked at Xu Yun with a distinctly strange expression.
"Then is it you and Mr. Fat Fish...?"
"Hold on, hold on!"
Seeing that the venerable old man was about to imagine all three of them coming out together, Xu Yun hurriedly interrupted his wild speculation.
"It's not a romantic matter. Mr. William, please explain!"
William nodded slightly. His expression had grown a little odd, too.
Had he imagined it, or had Little Ox seemed a tiny bit flustered when his eldest daughter came up?
Could Little Ox be hiding something from him?
But the thought flashed through his mind and was gone. There were more important matters at hand.
"Pastor Yarlin, here's the situation."
William then took out a small jar of tomato sauce and explained the whole matter to Yarlin in detail. He told him everything except the recipe.
"If you're interested, you could take a share as an individual or on behalf of the church.
"Rest assured, tomatoes aren't poisonous. This is a business that will surely please God."
William had deliberately avoided discussing the recipe. It was a fallback they had kept in reserve.
If Yarlin wanted to cut them out and keep the profits for himself, it would take at least two weeks to reverse-engineer the tomato sauce without the recipe. Though homemade tomato sauce required only four ingredients, they had arrived at the best proportions through repeated trials.
Meanwhile, Mrs. William had started making tomato sauce at home with her daughters. If the worst came to pass, William could set out for Lincoln or another large city right away.
Even without an influential figure to vouch for them, they could still earn some money by riding the trend.
"Tomatoes..."
Yarlin reached out with his withered fingers, lightly dipped them into the red sauce, and examined it before his eyes.
"Actually, more than twenty years ago, some scholars in Britain questioned the claim that tomatoes were poisonous.
"They're very popular among the common people in Spain, yet the death rate isn't nearly as high as the rumors claim. It's off by several orders of magnitude.
"When I visited De Gila Nier Academy in Spain, I saw tomatoes on a fruit platter at a reception banquet. I tried one myself, and showed no sign of poisoning.
"But I've never seen them turned into a thick sauce using another recipe. Judging by the taste, you must have added some other ingredients, too?"
Listening to Yarlin speak at length, William looked confused.
"Pastor Yarlin, what do you mean?"
Yarlin thought it over, then said:
"I agree to invest, but not as a private individual. I'll invest on behalf of the Grantham parish.
"The parish can provide sales channels and manpower, but I need you to guarantee me two things."
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