Chen Song returned home that evening.
The news of Wo Laicai's confession, however, had reached the Zhao Village before him.
It was the third Chen brother, Chen Lin, who brought the news back from the county seat.
Ordinarily, the Chen family's pancake stall would close down after noon, only staying open all day during market fairs. But this time, in order to snoop for details about the sensational murder case, their stall had stayed open for the entire day.
By nightfall, concrete news had come from the government office. Even the merchant's parents had come in person to claim the body. As soon as he heard, Chen Lin packed up his stall, closed up shop, and headed back to the Zhao Village.
As one might expect, Chen Lin, bearing such momentous news, became the star of the entire Zhao Village.
Before Chen Song got back, the house where the old Chen couple lived with the third branch of the family was impenetrably surrounded, with crowds packed three layers deep both inside and out.
