As Zhang Tao carried the bride into the house, Zhao Biao stood at the doorway, taking another look at the fleet of black wedding cars. The smile that had been hanging on his face gradually darkened.
Seeing his expression change, the surrounding villagers felt a bit afraid and detoured around him. They could not help but recall the arrogant slogan Zhao Biao used to shout.
"In Qingniu Town, no one is allowed to be more badass than me, Zhao Biao!"
For a town with very average development, he had actually managed to achieve this.
When others got married, they did not dare to use a lead car worth more than half a million. Of course, these days, there were indeed few families here who would use very expensive cars as lead cars. Most just threw together a random fleet, and some even used tractors to pull the dowry.
Now that such a luxurious wedding fleet had suddenly appeared, given Zhao Biao's nature, the Zhou family's son-in-law was probably going to suffer a bit.
The noon banquet began, and the atmosphere was ostensibly lively.
Zhang Tao went from table to table toasting. When he reached Zhou Qiang's table, Zhao Biao was also there.
"Groom, come, let me toast you!" Zhao Biao stood up with his wine glass. "I have some ties with your father-in-law, so sister Juan'er is also like a sister to me. In the future, if anything happens around here, just drop my name, Zhao Biao!"
"Thank you, Brother Biao." Zhang Tao raised his glass and downed it in one gulp.
Just as he finished, Zhao Biao reached out and held down Zhang Tao's glass. "Brother-in-law, drinking like this is no fun. The rule here is that to toast this table, you have to drink one glass per person, ten glasses in a row!"
Zhang Tao looked at the ten people at the table and frowned. "Brother Biao, my alcohol tolerance isn't great, and I still have to toast the other tables..."
"Not giving me face, huh?" Zhao Biao's expression sank.
A brother from the Wanlong Society acting as a driver next to him couldn't hold back. "Brother Tao still has to toast the other tables. The gesture is enough, right? Don't go too far!"
"Who the hell are you!"
Zhao Biao glared at the Wanlong Society member. "I'm talking to my brother-in-law. Is it your turn as an outsider to interrupt? Are you looking for death!"
"You..."
Seeing that a conflict was about to break out, Zhang Tao quickly intervened. "Alright, I'll drink."
After downing ten small glasses of white liquor, Zhang Tao's stomach churned, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. His usual alcohol tolerance was decent, but chugging like this, even with the smallest glasses, was a bit too much to bear.
After toasting this table, Zhang Tao was already a little unsteady on his feet.
Juan'er supported him, her heart aching for him. "Drink less."
"It's fine, I'm happy." Zhang Tao forced a smile.
Around two in the afternoon, the first banquet ended. According to local customs, there would be wedding hazing in the bridal chamber that night.
Zhang Tao originally wanted to skip these activities, but his father-in-law said it was an old tradition and hard to change. Moreover, wedding hazing usually just involved the bride and groom playing little games, like biting an apple together, which was harmless. He thought about it and did not insist.
The bridal chamber was Juan'er's original bedroom. Their house was just a normal rural layout with two bedrooms and a living room.
In the afternoon, Zhang Tao took a nap in the bridal chamber.
At seven in the evening, after the second meal, the people coming to haze the bridal chamber arrived.
The leader was Zhao Biao, followed by seven or eight ruffian-looking youths, all drunk.
When Zhao Biao reached the door, he didn't hold back and kicked the room door open.
"Brother-in-law, sober up, we're going to haze the bridal chamber!"
Zhang Tao had just sat up when he was propped up by two people.
"The first program, the groom is blindfolded and touches the bride. But let's change the rules a bit. Out of the women in the room, whoever you touch is the one you consummate the marriage with tonight!"
The bride, Juan'er, changed her expression. "Brother Biao, this won't do, it's too much!"
"Too much what? It's just for fun! Sister, don't worry, it won't go overboard. Your husband can definitely control himself," Zhao Biao said with a cheeky smile.
Besides Juan'er, there were three bridesmaids in the room. One was Juan'er's cousin, and two were her classmates, all around twenty years old. They had already heard of Zhao Biao's notorious reputation, and at this moment, they were a bit scared.
Zhang Tao was mostly sober now, and his face darkened. "Brother Biao, jokes are jokes, but don't scare the little girls."
"Oh, feeling protective now?"
Zhao Biao walked over and patted Zhang Tao's face. "Brother-in-law, do as the Romans do, understand? This is how we play here!"
Saying that, he cast a glance behind him.
The group of men, who had long been impatient, threw themselves directly at the three bridesmaids, laughing loudly while intentionally groping and grabbing at them.
No matter how the three girls cried, shouted, and pushed, they could not break free. Some hands were even dishonestly reaching toward the bridesmaids' private parts.
Some relatives and villagers at the door who were originally just watching the fun also could not help but speak up to persuade them to stop.
They did indeed have a custom of wedding hazing here, but it usually wasn't this excessive. It was just harmless little games involving the bride and groom, not the bridesmaids.
This was also the reason why the three bridesmaids hadn't left in the afternoon. If they had known they would be hazed at night, they would probably have found an excuse to slip away long ago.
But Zhao Biao and his gang were really doing it, and it was obviously crossing the line.
Those relatives and villagers had only offered a few words of advice before they were silenced by a vicious glare from Zhao Biao.
This showed how terrifying Zhao Biao's reputation was in the local area.
Juan'er was extremely anxious. No matter how she shouted, these men showed no sign of stopping and instead became increasingly outrageous.
Zhang Tao was not going to indulge them. He reached out directly and violently yanked away the guys who were pouncing on the bridesmaids one by one. He worked out regularly, so pulling these people away was not a big problem.
"Stop!"
"I told you to fucking stop! Is this how you haze a bridal chamber?!"
The group of guys, who were in the heat of their lustful actions, were suddenly yanked away by Zhang Tao and instantly became annoyed.
Especially the leader, Zhao Biao. He had almost touched a bridesmaid's chest but was grabbed by Zhang Tao and pushed to the ground, landing on his butt and crying out in pain.
"Zhang Tao, giving you face isn't enough, right? I'm just hazing the bridal chamber. I didn't mess with your wife. Why the fuck are you blindly interfering? Do you want to die!"
"Brother Biao, playing around is fine, but you can't go too far. Groping these young girls like that, according to criminal law, your actions already count as forced indecency and could even constitute attempted rape." Zhang Tao gave them a quick lesson in law.
Zhao Biao: "Hahaha, rape? Do you think I don't know the law? Since when does wedding hazing count as rape? Stop spouting bullshit!"
"Also, absolutely do not talk to me about the law in this place, because here, I, Zhao Biao, am the law!"
"I am very angry right now, and the consequences will be severe. I can temporarily overlook you pushing me just now. But next, your big brother is going to play a game. As long as I have fun, I will let bygones be bygones."
"As for what game? It's simple, just an exchange game. In a moment, you, the groom, will go out, leaving the bride and bridesmaids behind. We'll play a few little games with them. Once we're satisfied, tonight will end here. Otherwise..."
When he reached this point, his true nature was completely exposed, and his tone became fierce. "Otherwise, I can't guarantee whether you'll be able to leave Zhou Family Village in one piece!"
This was a naked threat.
Zhang Tao's eyes also gradually darkened, his mind constantly pondering how to solve this trouble.
Seven of the nine brothers who came from the Ten Thousand Dragons Society had already left because they had to return the cars, leaving only two behind to drive back with him tomorrow.
Now, including him, there were only three of them at most, while the other side had eight people.
The most crucial point was that they were still at his wife's family home. If this wasn't handled properly, it could lead to a lot of trouble.
Zhou Juan'er grabbed Zhang Tao's hand and whispered, "Ah Tao, what do we do now?"
She was also worried that if they really provoked Zhao Biao and he went crazy, both she and Zhang Tao would end up in a terrible situation.
The Ten Thousand Dragons Society was formidable, but their people were mostly back in Pearl City. Furthermore, even if they managed to chase Zhao Biao away for the time being, what would happen to her family? They would inevitably suffer Zhao Biao's revenge.
It was better to just endure it.
Zhang Tao was similarly afraid of dragging his father-in-law's family into a mess, and combined with the fact that today was his big wedding day, he had been holding back all this time.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have given a damn about the consequences and would have already taught this guy a harsh lesson on how to behave.
"Brother Biao, how about this? I'll toast to you to apologize, and I'll drink however you want me to. Just let these little girls go; they're still young, and it's not good to scare them."
Zhao Biao lit a cigarette. "Do you think I'm negotiating with you?"
He stood up, walked right up to Zhang Tao, and blew a puff of smoke directly into his face. "I've been running things around here for over a decade, and no one has ever dared to bargain with me. Today, you're playing this game whether you want to or not!"
"Someone, escort our groom out!"
Four or five young men rushed forward, reaching out to grab Zhang Tao.
"Fuck you!" Zhang Tao finally stopped holding back and smashed his fist right into Zhao Biao's face.
........
