I was a god in the 18th century

Chapter 363 Investigating Tea Safety Issues
Xia Qingdai sat in front of the warm fireplace, listening to Miss Bai reading the original French book. It was more hypnotic than listening to English, and she couldn't help feeling drowsy.

It snowed a lot in the winter of the Little Ice Age. The village roads were covered with thawed ice and snow, making them very slippery. It was the most unsuitable season to go out.

It just so happens that Xia Qingdai is not keen on social activities, so it's fine for her to just stay at home, warm herself by the fire, and take classes.

But Owen is not so leisurely. He has just discovered the secret in the "tea leaves" and is busy with it.

As a local sheriff and the owner of a manor, he had every reason to investigate the matter because the happiness of too many people depended on him.

Even in such icy and snowy weather that it was inconvenient to go out, Owen still sent people out. If you can't ride a horse or a carriage, then ski. There are always more solutions than problems.

Xia Qingdai still had some snowmelt left over from last year, but her visual map was limited, so she only cleared a portion of the road to Fucui Villa. She still couldn't go out freely.

In addition to sending people out to investigate the truth, Owen also confiscated all the counterfeit and shoddy "tea" in the castle.

The servants believed Owen's words without a doubt. If the owner said the tea was poisonous, then it must be poisonous. Although everyone couldn't live without tea, it was obvious that life was more important than drinking tea.

Owen gave some of the tea he enjoyed to his servants as a reward to make up for their losses on tea.

After finishing a French class and a music class, Xia Qingdai took the opportunity to go upstairs and return to the modern era.

Seeing that Owen was worried today, she decided to give him a surprise.

She remembered that during the Chinese New Year, there was a box of black tea divided into countless small packets hidden in the house. Just a few packets would be enough for Owen and his servants to eat for the whole year.

The only drawback of modern tea is that the leaves are too large, but it is better than the fake ones with copper sulfate added.

Xia Qingdai quietly took out a tea box from the storage cabinet in the living room, took out three packs, poured the unpacked tea leaves into a ceramic fresh-keeping box with a sealed lid, and then placed it in front of the courtyard of Jade Villa.

On such a cold and snowy day, the servants basically did not stay outdoors to work. Even the doormen who were on duty stood inside the gatehouse.

But the jar of tea that fell from the sky quickly attracted the attention of the people in the castle.

After receiving the notification, Owen walked from the study to the backyard, looked at a huge ceramic jar of tea leaves, slightly raised his head, and searched for the familiar face in the clouds.

Xia Qingdai leaned down, and her smiling face suddenly appeared and disappeared in the clouds.

Owen bowed slightly to the sky, and the servants beside him quickly followed suit and bowed, and could not help but raise their hands to the sky to thank the true God.

It turns out that God has always been paying attention to them. It really makes people feel grateful.

At noon today, the owner Owen had just confiscated the fake and inferior tea in the manor, and many servants who had spent money to buy tea at their own expense were still feeling a little pain. In the blink of an eye, it was afternoon, and the true God bestowed a huge sacred tea from heaven.

If this isn't caring, then what is?

Xia Qingdai leaned over the glass jar and said to Owen, "Owen, these tea leaves are for you. You can arrange them as you see fit."

"Okay." Owen bowed slightly. "I will give the servants some end-of-year bonuses, and I will also take some of the money and sell it in my own grocery store in Chinatown. What do you think?"

"Of course!" Xia Qingdai said without hesitation, "But in this weather, there shouldn't be many people in Chinatown, right?" "Yes, the roads are too slippery, and surgeons have been very busy lately."

"It's snowing, but there's nothing we can do about it." Xia Qingdai said. She only came back for the weekend, and she rarely left the castle, so she didn't feel the inconvenience. She even had the energy to go sledding.

Just now, she looked down from a high vantage point at the people skiing out of the castle, and she felt itchy in her heart and wanted to go skiing too.

Last winter, she had to prepare for the college entrance examination, so she didn't have much time to play. Now is the most relaxing winter of her freshman year, perfect for playing to her heart's content.

"Owen, let's go to the farm and get some sled dogs. Let's go sledding together this afternoon. What do you think?"

"That's a good idea." Owen certainly agreed. As long as the goddess wanted to play, he was happy to accompany her.

As for investigating the fake and inferior tea, he didn't have to do it himself. With David as his right-hand man, he could save a lot of trouble.

Butler David was indeed conscientious in his duties and had already arrived at the home of a small merchant selling general merchandise in the town.

He held in his hands cheap blackthorn leaves that had been dyed with copper sulfate and dried.

With a loud bang, David smashed the tea can onto the display stand in the department store.

The small merchant Charlotte ran over quickly, looked at David flatteringly, and asked with a nod and a bow, "Dear butler, what happened? You look so angry."

David opened the lid of the tea leaves and pushed it in front of the small merchant Charlotte: "Look for yourself what you are selling?"

The small merchant Charlotte looked down at the green tea leaves, confused, and asked hesitantly: "Dear housekeeper, is there any problem with this tea?"

David snorted coldly: "Still pretending! Don't you know what the problem is?"

"I, I, I really don't know." The small businessman Charlotte was sweating profusely when David stared at her. This man was the chief steward of Fucui Villa, who was protected by the true God. Even a hair of his was thicker than his waist. How could he dare to offend him? But he really didn't know what was going on.

"I'll give you another chance to think about it carefully. If you can't figure it out, I'm afraid you'll have to come back to the villa with me to stand trial."

Charlotte wiped the sweat off her head, rolled her eyes, and said, "The stuff came from London, and the price is indeed a bit cheap. I shouldn't have bought this stuff for cheap. Something must be wrong. I report that group of people as pirates!"

"Humph!" David glanced at him and said, "Go get the tea purchase account book, then take all the tea off the shelves and wait for our notice."

"Ah?" Charlotte felt a pang of pain when she heard that, but seeing David's cold expression, she didn't dare to say anything.

"Yes, yes, I'll do it right away. Please wait."

Since Owen was made Earl, the jurisdiction of this small town was transferred to him. Therefore, let alone asking the small businessman Charlotte to remove the tea from the shelves, it is not impossible to close his shop.

Thanks to the fact that the weather was not suitable for going out these two days, there were no customers shopping in the store, otherwise Charlotte would be even more unlucky and would have to explain to the customers why the authorities asked him to remove the tea from the shelves.

Once the people in the town knew about it, rumors would inevitably spread. Even without Owen trying him, he would be judged by public opinion first.

(End of this chapter)