Intentions Reached

Inside the church.

Upon hearing Yarlin's reply, William's expression faltered slightly:

"Which two points?"

Yarlin pondered for a few seconds and raised a finger:

"The first point is that the ketchup must first be subject to a two-week observation period arranged by the church. Only after it is confirmed to be non-toxic can it be sold.

If you are worried about the recipe being leaked, I can pay you a deposit of five guineas in the name of the diocese."

Hearing this, William exchanged a subtle glance with Little Ox and Xu Yun.

It had been mentioned before.

The average income of an ordinary family in current society was about 0.65 guineas. Five guineas was roughly equivalent to 8 years of income.

Converting this to today's terms, where a family earns sixty thousand a year, it would be around 500,000.

This price was negligible compared to the potential market for ketchup. After all, bread and potatoes were staple foods in this era, and the market for ketchup in all of Europe should be measured in "tens of thousands of guineas" at least.

But as mentioned before.

When a product's technological barriers can be easily overcome, its potential market, no matter how large, is difficult to monopolize.

Especially in these turbulent times – unless it is nationalized through policy and private production is prohibited.

According to Xu Yun and the others' previous estimations, without an authoritative endorser, they could at most earn 5-8 guineas.

Not to mention that Xu Yun was very familiar with Yarlin's background; this pastor was indeed a reliable person of upright character.

Following the course of history.

Six years later, Yarlin would inherit 150 guineas, but he only kept 10 guineas for his retirement and donated the rest to the church according to the Protestant principle of "tithing." The remainder was used to help the poor.

Today, there is a restored charity shop in Grantham town, established in his memory.

After Yarlin's death, the Protestant church established the Yarlin Fund. On the day the fund was established, Little Ox donated 40 Pounds Sterling (Pound Sterling had already been issued by then).

And this 40 Pounds Sterling was also the only donation Little Ox made in his lifetime that had a tangible receipt.

Faced with a huge sum of 150 guineas, Yarlin chose to donate it freely, let alone the uncertain future of ketchup.

Therefore, Xu Yun gave William a subtle wink, signaling that they could agree.

William evidently had the same thought and quickly nodded:

"No problem, Pastor Yarlin."

Yarlin nodded slightly, picked up the cup on the table, and took a small sip of water before continuing:

"As for the second matter, the church wants a seventy percent stake."

"Seventy percent stake?"

William's voice suddenly rose a few decibels. Although he quickly regained his composure, the heaving of his chest still revealed his inner turmoil:

"Pastor Yarlin, isn't this proportion a bit too high?"

Ketchup was a recipe brought out by Xu Yun, Little Ox was a middleman, and William himself provided a relatively stable backing.

Therefore, setting aside the church, the internal distribution of benefits among the three parties should have been at least 4:3:3. If Xu Yun had been firm, it would have been normal for him to take half.

If the church held seventy percent, their actual share would be less than ten percent?

Seeing William getting somewhat agitated, Yarlin waved his hand, signaling him not to rush:

"Mr. William, could you listen to me finish first?"

He paused and continued:

"First, let's talk about the material costs of ketchup. Although I haven't seen the specific recipe, I'm sure it must include sugar, right, Mr. William?"

Hearing the word "sugar," William immediately fell silent.

17th-century Europe was not like later times, where you could buy a packet of white sugar for two and a half pence.

During this period, granulated sugar was not even considered a food in Europe; it was more often used as medicine or as an item for the wealthy and powerful to flaunt their influence and wealth.

The reason for using granulated sugar as medicine was that many people suffered from chronic malnutrition at the time. Granulated sugar had high calories and was an effective "miracle drug" that worked immediately under any circumstances.

At this time, one hundred grams of white sugar cost about 8-9 pence, equivalent to 1/20 of a family's annual income.

The small amount of white sugar in Little Ox's family was reserve resources that William and his wife had given to Little Ox. If Little Ox hadn't been contemplating infinite series at the time, Xu Yun would have almost certainly not been able to take it away.

If the church were to cooperate with the William family, their target market would at least be the town market of Grantham. The initial production costs would clearly not be a small figure – and the church would have to bear them.

Seeing William's momentum gradually weakening, Yarlin smiled again:

"In addition to costs, the Grantham diocese can provide more advanced channels – not to mention far away, but at least covering one-fifth of the East Midlands region is not difficult.

Mr. William, you are also a businessman, you should understand the difference between a hundred buyers and ten thousand buyers, shouldn't you?"

Earning a hundred percent profit from a hundred sales, and ten percent profit from ten thousand sales, the latter's profit is ten times the former. This is a calculation even Lilani would understand.

Thinking of this, William couldn't help but glance at Xu Yun.

Xu Yun shrugged lightly, indicating that he had no objections.

Both of Yarlin's reasons were very convincing, and since Xu Yun couldn't take any money he earned back to his own time anyway, there was no need for him to haggle too much.

Seeing this, William had no choice but to give up on the main negotiation and shift his focus to the finer details:

"Mr. Yarlin, what you've said makes a lot of sense, but I think seventy percent is still a bit high. How about a sixty-forty split? And regarding the advance payment, I hope to receive at least eight guineas."

At this point of nitpicking, William naturally changed his address from 'Reverend' to 'Mister,' as the word 'Reverend' felt a bit awkward in such a mercenary negotiation.

The two then engaged in a discussion, finally reaching an agreement:

Yarlin, representing the Grantham diocese, signed a ketchup profit-sharing agreement with William, with a 6.5:3.5 split.

Both parties would undergo a one-week consumption observation period. If everything went smoothly, they would officially enter mass production.

At the same time, Yarlin would pay William 7 guineas as a guaranteed advance payment. This advance payment was an upfront portion of the profit-sharing agreement, but it also served as a guarantee. This meant that when the ketchup profits were divided, the church would first deduct the base amount of 7 guineas before calculating the split. However, if the total profit did not exceed 7 guineas, William would not be required to return any funds.

Subsequently, both parties pressed their fingerprints onto the agreement. In this era, where civil law was just beginning to sprout, such an agreement held significant legal weight.

Just over a year ago, in March 1664, a commoner had successfully sued a knight from Wimbledon using a similar agreement.

Ten minutes later.

The three of them walked out of the church doors. Little Ox patted the three guineas in his pocket (two of his own, plus one from Xu Yun for meals), a wide smile spreading across his face.