Pastor Weber looked around. Seeing that they were alone, he lowered his voice. "Mr. Betelich, I’ve learned from John that you’re a resourceful and capable man. To be honest, our Church doesn’t just need medicine. Sometimes, we need... special assistance."

Werner feigned ignorance. "Special assistance?"

Pastor Weber hesitated, as if assessing Werner’s trustworthiness.

Finally, he spoke slowly. "You see, our charity work brings us into contact with a complex mix of people. There are ordinary poor families, and then there are... people in special circumstances."

"What kind of special circumstances?" Werner asked, showing a moderate degree of curiosity.

"For example, unemployed workers, marginalized intellectuals, separated families." Weber’s voice grew even lower. "Their difficulties aren’t just financial. They are more... political."

Werner felt a jolt.

In East Germany, "political problems" was an extremely sensitive phrase.

He nodded in understanding. "That does indeed require careful handling."

Seeing Werner’s reaction, Pastor Weber seemed to lower his guard a little. "Things have been particularly bad recently. The number of people applying for help has surged. Many have fallen into difficult situations for various reasons, and they need more than just material aid. They need... other kinds of support."

Werner realized this was a critical moment. He needed to make his position clear. "Pastor, I believe I understand what you mean. I may be a businessman, but I have my principles. If I can help those who are truly in need, I’m willing to take on some... extra responsibility."

Pastor Weber watched Werner’s expression closely, as if judging his sincerity.

After a long moment, he finally nodded. "Very good. In that case, why don’t we go to the office in the back and talk in detail."

Werner followed Pastor Weber to a simple office behind the church.

A crucifix hung on the wall, along with a few photos of parish activities.

Weber closed the door and then returned to their earlier topic.

"Mr. Betelich, the work of our Church is actually a bit more complex than it appears on the surface." Weber walked behind his desk and sat down. "Besides regular charitable relief, we also undertake certain special duties."

"Such as?"

Pastor Weber opened a desk drawer and took out a thick folder.

"For example, helping separated families get back in touch."

He opened the folder. Inside were stacks of letters and application forms.

"After the East-West division, many families were forcibly separated. A husband working in West Germany while his wife and children remained in East Germany; or parents in West Germany and their children in the East. For political reasons, the government discourages such contact, and will even obstruct it. But blood is thicker than water, and these families are desperate for news of each other."

Werner began to understand. "So the Church became the go-between?"

"Exactly." Weber pulled a few letters from the folder and showed them to Werner.

The quality of the stationery was high, clearly not produced in East Germany. The postmarks showed they came from various cities in West Germany.

"These are all letters forwarded by the West German Church. Families over there entrust the Church with finding their relatives in East Germany, checking on their living conditions, and sometimes sending money or goods."

Werner picked up a letter and examined it closely.

The letter’s contents were simple. An elderly man living in Hamburg wanted to contact his son in East Berlin, from whom he’d been separated for three years.

Attached to the end of the letter was a money order for 500 West German Marks. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Why don’t they just contact them directly?"

Pastor Weber gave a wry smile. "Direct contact is very dangerous. If the East German Government discovers someone is in frequent contact with West Germany, they’ll be suspected of espionage or having inclinations to defect. In the best-case scenario, they lose their job; in the worst, they’re thrown in prison. Contacting them through the Church is much safer—after all, it’s a religious charity activity, which is harder for the government to interfere with."

"So how exactly do you help them?"

"We discreetly locate the people being sought, confirm their identity and current situation, and then pass the information back to West Germany through the Church network," Weber explained. "If the person we find agrees, we also arrange for secret correspondence or the delivery of supplies. Of course, all of this must be done with extreme care, leaving no trace behind."

Werner was beginning to understand one part of this "secret trade."

But he sensed there was something deeper that hadn’t been said.

"Pastor, this work sounds very risky. Why are you willing to take this on?"

Pastor Weber’s expression turned serious. "Mr. Betelich, this is our mission. To help those who are suffering, whether their suffering comes from poverty, illness, or... political persecution."

When he spoke the words "political persecution," Weber’s voice dropped very low.

Werner was stunned.

This pastor clearly knew more of the inside story.

He decided to probe further. "Political persecution... You mean, those imprisoned for political reasons?"

Pastor Weber was silent for a long time, as if considering whether he should reveal more information.

Finally, he began to speak slowly:

"In our charity work, we have indeed come across some such cases. Some people are imprisoned for criticizing the government, trying to escape East Germany, or applying to emigrate. Their families are often implicated as well, losing their jobs and housing. Even their children can’t attend school normally."

Werner’s breathing began to quicken.

’This must be the key information the system was hinting at!’

Weber continued, "Recently, we’ve received some... special requests from West Germany. There are people over there willing to provide... financial support to rescue these prisoners."

"Financial support?"

"Yes." Weber’s gaze grew profound. "The West German Government... seems to be considering some method of helping these political prisoners gain their freedom. It’s only a rumor for now, but if it comes true..."

Suddenly, fragments of memory from his past life flashed through Werner’s mind.

’The political prisoner trade! I remember now!’

Something like this had indeed happened in history—starting in the mid-1960s, the West German Government would secretly pay ransoms to the East German Government to free political prisoners held in East Germany.

Most of these political prisoners were East German citizens, imprisoned for reasons including: attempting to escape East Germany (the most common reason), criticizing the East German Government and the United Socialist Party, applying to emigrate to West Germany, communicating or having private contact with West Germans, and other acts deemed "anti-state" by East Germany.

In the eyes of the West German Government, these people were not true "criminals," but victims persecuted for pursuing freedom and basic human rights.

Therefore, rescuing them was a humanitarian responsibility for the West German Government.

These trades were usually highly secret, conducted through various intermediary organizations, including the Church, law firms, and so on.

The ransom amount depended on the prisoner’s circumstances—the "price" for an ordinary political prisoner was around 40,000 to 60,000 West German Marks, while doctors, engineers, and other high-level intellectuals could fetch as much as 100,000 West German Marks, or even more.

More importantly, the scale of these trades was enormous.

From 1964 to 1989, the West German Government paid a total of about 3.5 billion West German Marks in ransom, freeing approximately 34,000 political prisoners and over 200,000 of their family members!

The more Werner thought about it, the more excited he became.

If he could get involved before this trade network was fully established, he would be able to get a piece of the pie when the real "political prisoner trade" began.

Moreover, the profits from this kind of trade far exceeded those of ordinary smuggling—for every political prisoner freed, an intermediary could earn a commission of several thousand, or even tens of thousands of West German Marks. That was equivalent to several months’ worth of his smuggling profits!