I was a god in the 18th century

Chapter 382 Huanghuali

Fucui Villa is particularly lively today because there are more guests coming, they are Owen's cousins.

Lawyer Henry and his wife did not come because one was busy with the law firm and the other was busy looking after the house, but all their children came, even Owen's eldest cousin William, who had difficulty walking and wore artificial limbs.

January is the coldest month in the UK, and the winters during the Little Ice Age were even colder. Almost all of the northern hemisphere, except the equatorial region, was covered in snow, and the UK was no exception.

When Xia Qingdai suddenly appeared in the biting cold wind, the people in Fucui Villa did not feel too strange. After a few months, everyone had become accustomed to the cousin's mysterious appearances.

Only Owen's little cousin Connie showed curiosity about Xia Qingdai who appeared alone at the gate of the castle. She kept asking her where she came from, where she went to study, and whether it was snowing heavily outside.

Xia Qingdai smiled and brushed it all off, making the excuse of going to change clothes and warm herself up, and left everyone's sight.

Owen watched Xia Qingdai go upstairs, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

For Owen, it has been more than half a month since he last saw Xia Qingdai. In order to concentrate on preparing for the exam, she came to the room in the castle to absorb the power of faith quietly, so Owen naturally couldn't see it.

It was only a dozen days, but when Xia Qingdai put on a thick winter robe, opened the curtains and looked out the window, she felt that the changes here were quite big.

The first thing is that the noise coming from Chinatown has become louder. It shouldn't be like this, after all, it's the coldest season now, why would people go out to the streets if they don't just stay by the warm stove?
Besides, Chinatown is just a small street, and the flow of people shouldn't be so large that the noise would be transmitted to the castle.

Xia Qingdai looked towards Chinatown thoughtfully.

Because of her limited vision, no matter which window of the castle she stood in, she could not see the whole picture of Chinatown because it would be blocked by the thick fog. But if she really wanted to see it, she could just pull Owen forward and open the map.

Xia Qingdai did it as she thought. She closed the window of the room, turned around and left the bedroom, and went downstairs to find Owen.

In this cold season, Owen didn't have much work to do personally. Most of the trivial matters in the jurisdiction were handled by his clerks, and he only needed to review the final reports.

So at this time, Owen was sitting comfortably on the sofa in front of the fireplace reading a book.

Seeing Xia Qingdai come in, Owen immediately put down the book, stood up from the sofa, and bowed slightly to her.

Seeing him like this, his cousins ​​also stopped what they were doing, greeted Xia Qingdai politely, and then continued what they were doing.

Connie was studying how to tie butterfly flowers with Caroline at the moment. She had long since put aside her curiosity and when she saw Xia Qingdai come in, she did not continue to ask the previous question.

Owen's eldest cousin William was very talkative and attracted Xia Qingdai's tutor, Miss Bai, who was listening to what he said with a smile.

In the past, Miss Bai, who would have wanted to pull Xia Qingdai to class immediately when she saw her, did not rush to her side today.

Xia Qingdai glanced at Miss Bai with some surprise. Seeing that she was talking happily with William, she wondered if this independent woman who believed in non-marriage in the 18th century had fallen in love?

She couldn't help but feel a little amused. Why were there so many people around her emitting the sour smell of love recently?

As for Owen's little cousin, he was sitting alone at a small desk writing a letter. People in this era cannot do without letters wherever they go, so the postman always seems very busy.

Xia Qingdai winked at Owen, who left the warm fireplace and followed her out of the reception room. Old Mrs. Owen, who was knitting a sweater for her pet dog, raised her head and shouted at the two of them, "Oh, it's so cold outside, where are you going?"

Xia Qingdai tilted her head slightly and replied, "Just taking a casual walk."

"Well, you young people should go, but this weather is not suitable for old people to walk."

Although she said this, Mrs. Irving didn't understand it. It was so cold, sitting in front of the fireplace was so comfortable. Why would she take a walk? She didn't want to leave the warm house.

The warmest room on the first floor of the entire castle is the reception room with a large fireplace. And because it is surrounded by luxurious and expensive floor-to-ceiling windows, the light is also the brightest on the first floor of the entire castle.

That's why all the guests in the castle gathered here, but not just for the fun.

Xia Qingdai and Owen came to the study. The former had just rubbed her arm when the latter rang the bell to call the servants and ordered them to bring in two more charcoal stoves.

Not all rooms have fireplaces, and this study doesn't have one, so the heating is all done by charcoal. Compared to a warm fireplace, the heat emitted by a charcoal stove is limited.

Owen knew that Xia Qingdai, the "god", was also afraid of the cold, so he immediately ordered the servants to come in and add charcoal to the stove.

Xia Qingdai called Owen out from the warm reception room mainly to ask him about the ocean-going fleet.

This is her property secret, so it is not convenient to discuss it directly in the living room with many people. Things succeed with secrecy, but fail with disclosure. It is better to keep all matters related to property confidential.

"Owen, has the fleet arrived at the port? Have my rosewood been shipped from the East?" What Xia Qingdai was most concerned about was the high-quality rosewood.

The resources of this kind of fine wood have become increasingly scarce. The Qing Dynasty has now begun to use the stock from the Ming Dynasty. As for the stock in circulation in Britain, there is naturally even less.

"They have all been shipped to the villa a few days ago and are stored in the warehouse. Do you want to go and take a look now?"

Xia Qingdai said without hesitation: "Of course, take me to see it now."

I didn’t have the energy to think about my baby before because of the exams. Now that I have some free time, of course I have to check it out as soon as possible!

Owen bowed slightly and picked up the lamp beside him: "Okay, please follow me."

Xia Qingdai followed Owen to the basement, feeling extremely excited.

This is not a pure basement, because there is an overhead floor under the first floor of the castle. So even in the humid UK, this so-called basement does not smell musty. On the contrary, because of the moisture-proof and good light wells and ventilation holes, it smells quite fresh.

"Most of the treasures shipped from the East are placed here." Owen took Xia Qingdai into one of the warehouses.

When Xia Qingdai saw the yellow rosewood that filled half of the warehouse, her eyes lit up immediately: "Wow! Are these all yellow rosewood?"

"Yes, these are the best wood there."

Xia Qingdai embraced this office treasure with her eyes and sighed in her heart: If we can bring it back to modern times at a 1:1 ratio, we will really make a fortune.