Zhao Longju rose to his feet, shame written across his face. "Mister Qin, I'm sorry! I failed to keep my men in line and let these bastards cause you so much trouble!"
The dozen or so people kneeling in scattered clusters behind Zhao Longju saw his humble demeanor and immediately understood Qin Siyang's standing.
Their faces turned ashen. They bowed their heads low, not daring to make a sound, and only hoped today's trouble could be settled peacefully.
"Please don't say that, Fourth Uncle." Qin Siyang quickly took Zhao Longju by the arm and guided him into the other chair beside the table. "Without your help, who knows how many detours I'd have had to take to get the brigade organized? I won't forget this favor."
By calling Zhao Longju "Fourth Uncle" outright, Qin Siyang also made it clear that he would not pursue the matter further. Yet Zhao Longju continued to place himself in a lower position, still addressing Qin Siyang as "Mister Qin."
In Zhao Longju's eyes, Qin Siyang calling him Fourth Uncle was a gesture of respect. If he addressed Qin Siyang as his nephew in return, he would be forgetting his place.
After Zhao Longju got up, the others who had knelt with him began rising one after another.
"Who told you to get up?! Mister Qin hasn't spoken, and you dare move without permission?!"
Zhao Longju turned around, his gaze sharp as a knife and his voice suddenly rising. The men trembled in fright, their knees slamming back onto the floor.
"Fourth Uncle, don't be angry. It's already settled. They didn't cause any actual losses, and they put in quite a bit of work helping out. Let's leave it at that." He raised a hand toward the kneeling men. "Get up."
They rose with pained