Eighties Sweetheart Wife
Chapter 398 Volcanic Eruption

Chapter 398: Chapter 398 Volcanic Eruption

Zhou Xiaohua still saw Song Yunuan.

She hopped on one foot to greet her,

seeming as if she had something to say.

Song Yunuan did not leave; she had come with her grandmother, and now the grandmother was the supreme commander.

The old lady didn’t help, just stood off to the side with her hands clasped behind her like a leader.

Her eyes looked quite stern.

The other girl had a round face, always smiling, with a very good temper, and both girls could handle things on their own now.

This was upstairs, all women’s clothing and items for women.

There was also a counter specifically for girls’ accessories and cosmetics.

Upstairs was truly a miniaturized department store.

Downstairs, another clerk had been hired.

They also sold a variety of goods.

Just now on the road, Old Mrs. Song sneakily told Song Yunuan that the small department store brought in a monthly revenue of about three thousand yuan.

When she spoke these words, her voice carried excitement.

She also told Song Yunuan that the house next to Old Mr. Ji’s was planning to sell.

That area was full of single-story houses with heating, and Old Mrs. Song had her eyes set on it.

She planned to buy the house.

The sale of houses had actually been taking place for quite some time now.

They were all managed by the Housing Authority.

The house next to Old Mr. Ji’s was not small either, with yards at the front and back and a circle of red brick walls.

This place was called Pine Tree Alley, also because of the abundance of pine trees.

Old Mrs. Song did not know what Zhou Xiaohua wanted to say to Little Nuan, but it was bound to be about work experiences or study progress.

Old Mrs. Song told Song Yunuan, "Wait here for me; I’m going to take a look at your house over there."

Once Old Mrs. Song had gone, Zhou Xiaohua’s busy period came to a break, and she told Yuan Yun to carry on by himself as she needed to talk to Song Yunuan.

Song Yunuan glanced at Yuan Yun, who didn’t seem surprised, meaning he probably knew what Zhou Xiaohua wanted to discuss.

Song Yunuan cheerfully urged her to speak her mind.

Zhou Xiaohua said, "...These past few days, people have been asking me if our Zhilan Garment Factory is going to become a state-owned enterprise, and if we’re hiring. Some people also say that state-owned and private enterprises are different, private enterprises are just capitalists, and they won’t last long in the future... I just want to know if we are going to change; I feel like things are pretty good as they are now."

Song Yunuan and Song Liang had indeed discussed this issue before.

In the end, they decided to maintain the status quo.

Turning state-owned was actually something employees liked; becoming a worker in a state-owned enterprise meant a status boost and securing an ’iron rice bowl.’

The state took care of pensions and retirements.

However, if it became state-owned, that meant having a complete leadership team, rather than the current makeshift one.

For now, everything was going according to Song Yunuan’s plan.

But what if?

What if in the future she didn’t have the time to take care of everything?

Moreover, in another ten years, it would be the 90s, a time commonly associated with layoffs and buyouts.

If a factory was doing well, fine, but if not, it faced closure, eventually taken over by private contractors, leaving workers to fend for themselves, to pay their own pensions.

So, really, if that day came, looking back at the present, it would all seem like an unnecessary step.

Song Yunuan said to Zhou Xiaohua, "For now, it’s a village enterprise, different from state-owned, but you all have the same benefits and treatment as state-owned workers."

Zhou Xiaohua nodded vigorously.

What followed was her discussing her study situation.

-----------------

On the day of the Little New Year in the north, Old Mrs. Song bought the house next door.

Then she started cleaning it up. The previous occupants kept it very clean, so just tidied up the doors and windows.

Old Mrs. Song said that now they had a place to stay when coming to the city.

But she told the family that the house was registered under Little Nuan’s name, warning them not to get any ideas.

Song Yunuan felt that Old Mrs. Song probably thought that her being able to buy a house in the county town was already quite an accomplishment.

She probably didn’t plan to buy a second one.

But it’s hard to say.

The new year was about to come.

Erdao River Village was much livelier than in previous years.

The day after Song Ting returned, Chu Zizhou boarded a train back to Beidu.

On the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, Song Yunuan heard a piece of news from the radio, namely that a volcano in West Canyon in Country X, which had been dormant for an unknown number of years, had suddenly erupted.

Because the news did not mention any casualties, Song Yunuan did not know whether Kurt Gymm’s father had been affected by the disaster.

She called Xia Bowen to ask for his help in keeping an eye on the situation.

Xia Bowen had not expected Little Nuan to contact him again.

He readily agreed and immediately began making inquiries for her.

Meanwhile, Kurt Gymm, who had been traveling day and night, still failed to catch up with his father’s car.

When he arrived at a small town, he looked towards the distant horizon, and despite the great distance, he could still see the normally azure sky now shrouded in dark clouds, the air filled with dust.

Pedestrians hurried by with masks and scarves on.

TV crews, newspaper reporters, and rescue teams were all heading towards West Canyon.

The volcano had erupted.

Fortunately, there were no villages or towns nearby.

But Kurt knew that the mountaineering team was climbing in West Canyon.

If the volcano had erupted, and if they were close by, he might not even be able to find his father’s remains.

They would all have turned to ash, right?

There were roadblocks ahead, and they wouldn’t let anyone through.

Kurt’s eyes were bloodshot, and his hand gripped the mobile phone tightly, dialing multiple times, but there was no signal.

The area was very remote.

The communication network equipment had not kept up in time, so the mobile phone in his hand was of little use.

But he heard that in Dragon Kingdom, they had developed one that was smaller, thinner, and had better call quality than this one.

If he had that, could he have reached his father?

Kurt clenched the phone tightly in his hand.

He had just arrived at this town.

But he couldn’t go any further.

The tall figure of Kurt stood beside the roadblock, tears streaming down his face unconsciously.

But at this moment, he heard a trembling yet familiar voice from behind.

"Kurt..."

Upon hearing the voice, Kurt’s whole body shook.

Then he turned around sharply, disbelievingly looking in the direction behind him.

Not far away, he saw his father, Hans.

Kurt blinked repeatedly, thinking he was dreaming, or that he was seeing his father’s spirit.

He stood there, not daring to move, for fear that a blink might cause his father to be blown away by the wind.

Hans knew his son was stunned.

He strode forward and then hugged his son tightly.

"Kurt, thank you, thank you for your perseverance, and thank Miss Song as well.

I sincerely apologize for the hurtful words I said that day. I apologize to Miss Song, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have doubted you..."

Hans looked at the overcast sky, the environment here was terrible, and the air quality poor; just speaking a few words made him cough.

But this was already the best outcome because he was still alive.

He had not reached his destination when he stopped here.

Because it was after he had called home that he found out Kurt had sneaked out and chased after him in the car.

He was furious at the time.

But now, he felt only relief.

Thinking of this made Hans’s whole body tremble; out of the thirty-nine people in his mountaineering team, only he remained...