Chapter 218: What’s Wrong with Being a Chef?

Chapter 218: Chapter 218: What’s Wrong with Being a Chef?

’This might actually work.’

Her interest piqued, Teacher Zhang went online to search and found a large number of related news reports.

She even found professional papers from the education sector analyzing how such courses could foster children’s psychological development.

The more Teacher Zhang read, the more she felt this was a viable idea.

But that raised a question:

"Who would teach the cooking class...?"

Her eyes fell on Nan Zhi instinctively.

A few days ago, Teacher Zhang would have likely volunteered to teach it herself, but now she was well aware of her true culinary abilities.

She also knew that the other two teachers, Xiao Lin and Old Wu, were the types who’d never touched a kitchen utensil in their lives. They were fine as kitchen hands, but putting them in charge of actual cooking was out of the question.

After thinking it over, Nan Zhi was the only person Teacher Zhang could think of.

Recalling the patience and meticulous care Nan Zhi had shown when teaching her to cook the other day, Teacher Zhang was suddenly certain: there was no one more suited for the role!

Nan Zhi agreed with a decisive nod.

"Of course! That was my plan all along."

’Why else would I have suggested a cooking class?’

Hearing this, Teacher Zhang’s face lit up with a smile.

"Oh, right. We still have to ask the children for their opinions. After all, it’s their class. What they think is the most important thing..."

Teacher Zhang was a practical person who disliked empty formalities.

If it were just a matter of completing a task assigned by her superiors, she could have arranged the new class any way she wanted.

The reason she had agonized over it for so long was because she wanted the children to learn something truly useful!

Even if it had only the slightest impact!

And so, Teacher Zhang excitedly waited for the bell, ready to notify all three grades as soon as class ended so the children could vote on it...

"Ah, right. Teacher Nan, about your health..."

Teacher Zhang hadn’t forgotten that she was talking to someone who had just come back from the hospital. She hesitated again.

It wasn’t until Nan Zhi repeatedly assured her—and promised that if she felt unwell, she would immediately stop the class and find a substitute—that Teacher Zhang was finally able to put her worries to rest.

The school bell rang, signaling the end of class.

Teacher Zhang rushed out of the office.

Nan Zhi followed at a leisurely pace, feeling pleased.

Little did they know, their idea for the new class had already ignited a massive debate online.

The situation was clearly split into two camps—

One side refuted Nan Zhi:

[What, so kids from the mountains are only good enough to be cooks?]

[I’m so pissed off. Nan Zhi’s proposal is completely leading these kids astray! What if there’s a gifted child who could have been a scientist, but she misleads them into becoming a cook... What a huge loss for the country that would be!]

[Nan Zhi’s idea is completely impractical and totally out of touch!]

[This is ridiculous. Kids from poor families learn to take care of themselves early. Which one of them doesn’t know how to cook? She must be joking!]

[Logically, if Nan Zhi had proposed this for city schools, it would make sense. For modern city kids, a cooking class could teach them to appreciate food, value hard work, and be more considerate of their parents. But is it really necessary for kids in the mountains?]

[Heh. I bet even the kids think it’s absurd. They have to cook at home, and now they have to cook at school too?]

[These celebrities get put on such a high pedestal they get full of themselves and forget their place!]

...

The other side supported Nan Zhi:

[There’s nothing wrong with learning more skills. What’s wrong with cooking? Is being a cook some low-class profession?]

[Exactly. It’s about learning a skill, not forcing them to become professional cooks! Not that being a cook is any less noble than being a scientist—all jobs have value—but how can you be so sure these kids will be ’misled’ so easily?]

[How is this ’out of touch’? Lots of schools are already doing this. My daughter’s school just held a "Junior Master Chef" competition! As a parent, I’m all for it!]

[People who assume all kids from the mountains can cook are just making assumptions. Why should they automatically know how? That’s just a stereotype!]

[Yeah, I grew up in the mountains and I never cooked. If I’d had the chance to take a cooking class as a kid, I would have been super interested. For a kid, anything that feels like playing is fun!]

[Are some of you in too much of a hurry to start hating? The specific details of the class aren’t even out yet. Nan Zhi isn’t trying to train them to be professional chefs. It’s an ’experiential’ class! EXPERIENCE! Can’t you people read?]

[Calling Nan Zhi ’out of touch’ is a joke. The woman has lived in a shantytown, run a night market stall, slept in a tiny attic, and opened her own small diner... Tell me, which part of that is ’out of touch’?]

...

The debate in the comment section raged on, showing signs of escalating.

Many verified influencers and experts also weighed in, including educators, child psychologists, authors, and more.

Their opinions were just as divided, with some in support and others in opposition.

The main point of contention was this:

Children from the city and children from the countryside are different.

The internet was in an uproar.

But Nan Zhi was completely oblivious.

She leisurely returned to the office and brewed herself some herbal tea.

The tea was hand-dried by Teacher Zhang, who had shared some with her and Qi Pei’er as a "new teacher perk." It had a wonderful aroma and flavor.

As Nan Zhi was sipping her tea, Teacher Zhang walked in, beaming.

"Teacher Nan, there you are! I just took advantage of the break to have the kids vote on the new class, and they’re all thrilled about it!"

"Oh, are they?"

Nan Zhi smiled and stood up, feeling happy as well. ℯ𝓵.

She and Teacher Zhang then made the most of their time, diving into a discussion about the course curriculum.

The two were focused and earnest in their discussion, completely unaware that the livestream comments were about to explode:

[See! The kids themselves agreed to it!]

[What do little kids know? They probably just think it’s a new game!]

[Didn’t you just say the kids’ opinions are what matter most? Now you’re changing your tune?]

[They’re just elementary schoolers. Back when I was that age, I would never have dared to go against a teacher! "The kids are all thrilled..." That’s probably just what Teacher Zhang wants to believe!]

[You guys are making me laugh out of sheer anger! You say one thing, then the complete opposite! Aren’t you the ones forcing your own ideas onto the kids now?]

...

Nan Zhi was in the middle of her conversation.

Her phone, sitting on the desk, suddenly vibrated.

It was a WeChat message.

Since they were in the middle of filming and discussing important matters, Nan Zhi’s first instinct was to ignore it.

But the phone buzzed twice more.

Teacher Zhang noticed as well.

"Maybe you should check it? It could be something urgent."

Nan Zhi had no choice but to open it. On the screen was a concise message from the production team, mentioning the current online controversy surrounding her proposed cooking class.

Normally, Xu Lin’s directing style was to minimize the production team’s influence on the shoot, in order to capture the guests’ most authentic reactions.

The fact that they’d suddenly sent a message meant the online uproar must be pretty serious.