Gu Qiaoqiao walked to the lakeside and looked closely. Although the current light wasnât as bright as during the day, she immediately saw that the lakebed was filled with colorful small stones.
The water of this Crescent Lake is actually so clear.
Clear enough to see the bottom.
Then, Gu Qiaoqiao unexpectedly heard the faint sound of water flowing.
Could it be that this isnât just a stagnant lake?
Gu Qiaoqiao turned to look at Qin Yize, who stood behind her, widened her beautiful eyes, and asked in surprise, "Ah Ze, is this Crescent Lake flowing?"
Qin Yize nodded and pointed towards the southwest, "The water flows from Helan Mountain. Part of it is groundwater, and some of it gathers here from small streams..."
He then pointed to the other side and continued, "The water from this Crescent Lake will flow to the Awara Pastoral Area, where there are many cattle and sheep..."
Gu Qiaoqiao looked at the shimmering Crescent Lake before her, filled with admiration, and couldnât help but sigh with a bit of concern, "Such a beautiful place, and you found it, but how long can we stay here? Building a Mongolian Yurt here, isnât that illegal?"
Qin Yize couldnât help but laugh, reached out to ruffle Gu Qiaoqiaoâs hair, and said softly yet seriously, "Qiaoqiao, this is our ranch, itâs ours. You can stay as long as you want!"
This time, Gu Qiaoqiao was truly astonished.
She widened her eyes at Qin Yize again, glanced at the vast grasslands surrounding her, and incredulously asked, "Ah Ze, are you serious? Youâre not joking, right?"
Then Gu Qiaoqiao gestured around, "This large ranch, itâs ours?"
Impossible, isnât it?
Even though she knew Qin Yize wouldnât lie, Gu Qiaoqiao still found it hard to believe.
Qin Yize nodded earnestly, took Gu Qiaoqiaoâs hand, and pointed around, "Qiaoqiao, look, the areas enclosed by the fences are all ours, including this Crescent Lake. Oh, and that Cornelian Cherry Tree on the opposite bank is also part of our ranch."
Gu Qiaoqiaoâs eyes were full of doubt. Is such a large ranch really all Qin Yizeâs?
She knew Qin Yize wasnât an ordinary person and that the Qin Family and Old Grand Master Qin had deep roots, but she never knew the Qin Family also owned such a large ranch.
In her previous life, she never knew, and she hadnât seen Qin Yize come here in the Reincarnation Mirror either.
Moreover, such a big ranch owned by an individual, and given Qin Yizeâs special status, could he really own it peacefully?
Wouldnât it incite jealousy and suspicion from others?
This matter doesnât seem that simple.
Gu Qiaoqiao became somewhat worried.
Qin Yize saw Gu Qiaoqiaoâs expression and knew the little girl was worried. He held Gu Qiaoqiaoâs hand and said softly, "You little girl, quite the law-abiding one, rest assured, this is acquired through normal channels. Itâs our legal property."
He then pulled Gu Qiaoqiao to sit cross-legged on the warm sandy beach and continued, "Actually, I only found out about this half a month ago..."
Half a month ago?
At that time, they were in Jinling City, but they were about to leave.
"...This ranch belonged to the Qin Family more than fifty years ago, an ancestral inheritance. But because itâs so far from the Imperial Capital, with inconvenient transportation and no roads, no one from the Qin Family wanted to come here, and with the turbulent times later, it was left abandoned..."
Qin Yize pointed to a spot on the fence wall, "There used to be houses there, but they were demolished later. When Great Grandfather was inventorying the estate, he remembered it. After the establishment of the New Nation, Great Grandfather gave this ranch to the Steppe Cavalry Camp to use for free."
"Steppe Cavalry Camp?"
Gu Qiaoqiao widened her eyes in surprise. She had seen it on TV, a unit galloping across the grasslands.
It had made great contributions to the founding of the New Nation.
Qin Yize nodded, "Yes, it was given to the Cavalry Camp for use without specifying for how many years. Last autumn, the Cavalry Camp was reorganized, and this ranch was vacated. Later, the leadership decided to return this ranch to the Qin Family."
Qin Yize paused for a moment and then continued, "Of course, the final decision was made by Elder Shen. Some people disagreed, but Great Grandfather had no intention of reclaiming the ranch because itâs too remote, and our family isnât in the business of grazing, so we couldnât use the ranch...
However, with the leadershipâs goodwill, Great Grandfather gladly accepted it back. After completing all the formalities, he planned to hand it over to me.
Initially, I didnât know. After completing all the formalities half a month ago, Great Grandfather called me. I didnât tell you because I wasnât sure what it was like here, as I had never been here before, and I didnât think much of it.
But once I came, I thought my Qiaoqiao would certainly love it here. So, I asked the remaining cavalry camp comrades to help set up the Mongolian Yurt and transport all these things over..."
Gu Qiaoqiao watched Qin Yize without blinking.
He said she would like it.
So, he started tidying the place.
Gu Qiaoqiao was filled with emotion and murmured, "You were really quick. In just one day and night, you didnât stay up all night, did you?"
But from the look in his eyes, it seemed he hadnât missed any sleep.
Qin Yize chuckled and half-jokingly said, "Many hands make light work. Donât worry about setting up one Mongolian Yurt; even if there were a mountain here, my comrades could move it!"
Gu Qiaoqiao unconsciously nodded, also digesting Qin Yizeâs words.
This ranch was given to Qin Yize by Old Grand Master Qin.
So, itâs his and hers.
After all, it was an ancestral property of the Qin Family.
Itâs said that the Qin Family had many senior officials in their ancestry.
Itâs normal to have such an ancestral property.
And in her previous life, the Qin Family never reclaimed this ranch because Elder Shen had passed away.
And that was that.
As for who it ended up with, no one knew.
But in this life, Elder Shen, who was most familiar with this history, had handled it personally back then, so now, with the unit no longer using it, it naturally had to be returned to the Qin Family.
So, it turns out thatâs what happened.
Karmic fate is indeed mysterious.
Gu Qiaoqiao sighed in her heart, but seeing Qin Yizeâs bright eyes, joy also welled up inside her.
She indeed liked this place as Qin Yize thought she would.
She liked it even more than Gu Garden.
She didnât pursue the questions further either and didnât worry anymore.
After all, this was originally something belonging to the Qin Family.
She happily kicked the sand on the ground with her feet and said joyfully, "Ah Ze, this is great. We can live here openly and honestly. I really love this ranch."
The sand she kicked landed on Qin Yizeâs pants, but he seemed not to notice, his eyes and heart full of the radiant smile of the young girl before him.