I was a god in the 18th century

Chapter 438 Catch the sea
After running a lap on the beach, Xia Qingdai looked at the people working in the mudflats ahead and suddenly got excited, so she called Owen to join her.

Owen said quickly, "Cousin, there are many rocks ahead. It's easy to get scratched if you walk barefoot. Let's go put on our shoes."

"It's okay, just carry it with you. You can't step in the sea water with shoes on, and that's not fun." Xia Qingdai waved her hands, looking indifferent.

Owen insisted, "I brought my rain boots, I think it would be better if we changed into them."

"You have rain boots? Well, I'll do as you say."

Owen then took Xia Qingdai and ran towards the shore. When they passed the circle of shoes and socks, the two of them picked them up without caring and continued to run back barefoot.

On the side of the path not far from the coast was a suitcase they brought with them, which contained the rain boots that Owen had prepared.

During this period, rain boots were similar in style all over the world - high-heeled clogs. The more luxurious nobles would also wear well-made genuine leather boots as rain boots.

But whether it is clogs or leather boots, the heels have the same characteristics, that is, high heels, which are the same for both men and women.

This primitive version of rain boots is naturally not truly waterproof, but it is better than nothing.

Xia Qingdai wiped her feet clean with gauze, then put on her high-heeled clogs and tried walking a few steps. She found that they fit her feet very well and there was no feeling of wood hurting her feet at all.

"It's my size." Xia Qingdai was a little happy. "How did you know my size?"

Owen blushed slightly, not knowing what was in his mind, and said shyly, "I guessed."

"Great, great!" Xia Qingdai praised happily. After seeing Owen wearing high-heeled clogs, she felt strange no matter how she looked at it.

It's weird for men to wear high heels!
Although many men in this period wore high heels, it is said that high heels were invented for men from the beginning.

But Owen was very tall, so he never wore high heels. Seeing this, Xia Qingdai couldn't help but want to laugh. She couldn't accept men wearing high heels, but she didn't say it at this moment. She just tried to look away and not look at the shoes on Owen's feet.

After walking two steps on the beach, she suddenly thought of something and pointed at the high-heeled clogs and said to Owen, "Owen, you know, when rubber can be put into large-scale production, maybe you can open a factory specializing in raincoats and rain boots. Vulcanized rubber is very good at waterproofing."

"Well, I have carefully read the paper you gave me. Rubber has great potential for future development."

Xia Qingdai smiled sweetly and did not continue talking about this topic. Anyway, the technology for processing rubber had been handed over to Owen, and it all depended on him how the company would develop in the end.

The two of them walked towards the mudflat in high-heeled wooden clogs. When the people who were going to the beach saw them coming, they all cast their gazes at them.

There was a middle-aged man who was quite courageous. He took off his hat, bowed, greeted the two people from a distance and asked them where they were from.

Owen and Xia Qingdai both thought the other would reply, so no one spoke. After a pause, Owen replied: "We came from London."

"Oh, I think so. From the way you two talk and behave, I know you must be nobles from the city. There are no fashionable young people like you in this seaside town."

Facing the other party's compliment, Owen smiled with a respectful attitude, not willing to say more perfunctory words, and simply bowed and looked down at the gravel road under his feet. His unwillingness to socialize was obvious, and the other party also shut up and continued to look for seafood.

After all, clogs are not real rain boots. Although they can protect the soles of your feet from being scratched by stones and other objects on the beach, your feet still need to be soaked in water.

Even though it is April, officially spring, it is still quite cold due to the Little Ice Age. The warm currents of the Atlantic Ocean have not warmed the sea water much at this time of year. My feet are still a little cold when I soak them in the sea water.

But Xia Qingdai didn't care about it at all. She could go into the sea barefoot. She was already going to the beach to play, so how could she be scared away by the cold sea water?
London’s beaches are not considered very environmentally friendly at this time, after all, wastewater from the city’s factories eventually ends up in the sea.

Therefore, although Xia Qingdai was enthusiastic about going to the sea, she did not think about how much she could gain here, and just took things as they came.

Unlike other people who come to the beach just to fill their stomachs, she does it purely for fun.

She found it very interesting to turn over the small stones with her own hands, catch a small crab hiding inside, dig up a clam, and fish out some small fish and shrimp trapped in the small puddles of water.

Although Xia Qingdai's grandmother's home is on an island, she spent most of her summer vacations at her grandmother's home when she was a child. However, her grandmother's village is far away from the beach, so she naturally had no chance to have fun at the beach.

Therefore, when she came to the beach, she was in particularly high spirits. She dug and turned in the mud, not feeling tired or dirty at all.

The wet and sticky sea mud sliding across her feet only made her feel relaxed and she wasn't afraid at all.

Owen carried a bag and followed Xia Qingdai closely. He was not very interested in catching seafood, he just wanted to accompany the goddess and help her carry the spoils of catching seafood.

I don’t know how long it took, but the sun was at its zenith and the tide was rising.

The people who were chasing the seafood on the beach had all left, leaving only Xia Qingdai and Owen on the beach.

"Cousin, the tide is getting higher and higher. Should we leave first?"

Xia Qingdai straightened up, glanced at the sea water that had already covered her calves, and said, "Okay, let's go back then."

After saying that, he clapped his hands, pulled his feet out of the mud, and was about to turn around, but he was accidentally tripped by a large conch. He immediately lost his balance and was about to fall.

At this critical moment, Owen immediately reached out and held her arm: "Be careful."

After Xia Qingdai helped Owen stand steadily, she leaned over and dug out the conch that almost tripped her, smiling brightly: "This is something that came to my door on its own, let's grill it this afternoon! Come on, Owen, let's have fresh seafood for lunch today!"

"Okay." Owen tightened the bag of seafood and turned to lead the way. "I used the money I got from the ocean-going fleet to buy a villa in this coastal town. Let's rest there at noon."

"Ah, really? The beachfront villa is great! You've really thought about it!" Xia Qingdai was so surprised that she couldn't help but recite, "Ha, from today on, I have a house facing the sea, with flowers blooming in the spring!"

She spoke in Chinese, but Owen, who was learning Chinese every day, could understand her and smiled faintly, "As long as you like it."

It is basic for gentlemen of this age to know a few foreign languages. They have been taking Latin, French, etc. since childhood. It is not difficult for Owen to learn Chinese.