Chapter 473 - 449: Surprise Before the Birthday (2)

It took several broken hammers and pickaxes.

But the results were delightful.

When the complete skeleton was propped up on the island, everyone gasped in amazement.

"It’s gorgeous!"

"It’s huge. This thing could probably swallow several people in one bite."

"Thank goodness there’s nothing this terrifying in the sea anymore."

"I wonder what kind of dinosaur fossil this is."

This was the first complete fossil skeleton they had assembled on the island.

The others were all missing a piece here or a piece there.

They still hadn’t found the skulls for a few of them.

The Giant-toothed Shark was also missing a few bones, but it was nearly perfect.

Everyone present who saw it loved it.

"Jiaojiao, isn’t your birthday coming up soon?"

Yun Jiao nodded.

"You should bring people to the island to celebrate."

’Something so big and beautiful should be admired by everyone. It’ll be more fun to see their shocked faces.’

Yun Jiao rubbed her chin and thought about it. It didn’t seem like a bad idea.

After all, there was a house on the island, and they could cook.

’I could bring the whole family over to the island to play.’

"Okay!"

Her birthday was in a few days, and all her close relatives would definitely come.

’I need to find the rest of those skeletons as soon as possible.’

So, for the next few days, Yun Jiao went to the ocean trench to salvage bones.

When she found fossils she liked embedded in the rock walls, she would chip them out.

But today, she chipped out a surprise.

A complete object, larger than her own head, fell out.

At first, she thought it was just a rock. But after the murky water cleared, she noticed its shape wasn’t quite right.

Swimming closer, she circled it, rubbing her chin. ’This thing... it kind of looks like a giant clam?’

Although it looked like a large rock overall, its shape was indeed like that of a giant clam.

She tried to lift it. It was so heavy.

’I’ll take it back and have a look first.’

So this time, in addition to the bones, Yun Jiao also brought back a heavy rock.

Back on the island, everyone stared in amazement at what she was carrying.

"What is that thing?"

Yun Jiao replied, "It looks like a giant clam, but I’m not sure."

So everyone gathered around the large rock to study it. After prying off some of the attached stone fragments, the shape became even more apparent.

"It really is a fossilized giant clam."

Unlike the other bones, its exterior no longer had the texture of a shell. It had hardened into a stone-like consistency.

It was a large, roundish lump, bigger than an adult’s head.

"You really bring us a new surprise every day."

The ocean was vast, hiding countless treasures that ordinary people could never find.

Only someone like Yun Jiao could.

Everyone marveled at the clam fossil for a while before carefully setting it aside to continue looking at the bones.

After several days of effort, in addition to the complete skeleton chipped from the rock wall, they had assembled three more from the scattered pieces.

The skeleton of the Giant-toothed Shark was also complete.

It didn’t matter if every bone was from the same individual; they were definitely from the same species.

The massive skeletons, propped up in the open space in front of the villa, were truly a spectacular sight.

The remaining scattered bones that couldn’t be assembled were placed in an empty room.

’Maybe we can piece them together later if we find more.’

Yun Chenbei aimed his camera at the fossils and started snapping away. CLICK CLICK CLICK.

"Perfect!"

Grandpa Yun stroked his beard. "Good heavens, a thing this big... how many fish must it have eaten in a single meal back in the day?"

No doubt about it. The fights between them must have been brutal.

After finishing these skeletons, Yun Jiao stopped going to the seafloor to collect bones because her birthday was fast approaching.

In two days, she would be nine years old!

Just like every year, no matter how busy everyone was, they would always make time for her on her birthday.

Even her third brother was no exception.

What was surprising was that this year, her two older brothers in the army were also coming back!

They had five days of leave this year and had arranged to save it all for Yun Jiao’s birthday.

The day before Yun Jiao’s birthday, they arrived by train, dusty from their journey and still in their military uniforms.

Their uniforms drew a lot of attention the entire way home.

But the two of them remained unflinching, sitting and walking with ramrod-straight posture.

It was a trait unique to soldiers.

When they returned to the village, they were surrounded before they even reached their house.

The aunties and grannies at the village entrance were stunned when they saw two spirited young men in military uniforms walking toward them.

Until one of the women slapped her thigh.

"Aiyo, this... this is Chendong and Chenxi! You... you’re back!"

At her words, the whole crowd erupted.

Yun Chenxi smiled and greeted everyone he recognized by name.

"We have leave this year, so we came back."

"Quick, quick, go tell Jiaojiao and Yun Linhai!"

"Their whole family went out to sea. I don’t know if they’re back yet."

Looking at the two young men, someone quickly asked.

"Have you two found girlfriends yet?"

Yun Chendong was about to say no, but Yun Chenxi tugged his arm.

He said with a grin, "We do. My brother and I both have girlfriends. Mine is on the medical team, and my brother’s is a performance artist in the army."

Hearing this, the light in everyone’s eyes instantly died out.

Alas, what a pity. They had been hoping to introduce their own daughters or their relatives’ daughters to the two brothers.

Nevertheless, everyone was still very enthusiastic toward the two brothers. The other villagers, including the men, who heard the news later all ran over to see them.

They peppered them with questions.

Yun Chendong didn’t like answering, but Yun Chenxi handled it with ease.

In the end, Yun Chenxi quickly led his big brother home.

Just as Yun Jiao’s family boat was approaching the shore, they heard someone from the village shouting.

"Yun Linhai, your two sons in the army are back!"

"What?!"

Everyone was shocked. Who was back?

After asking again and confirming that their two sons were indeed back, the whole family grew excited.

"Hurry back! The eldest and the second eldest are home!"

So, on the way home, everyone practically ran.

They hadn’t been back in years. Aside from the occasional phone call or letter, they hadn’t seen each other at all. How could they not be excited?