CHAPTER 636: CHAPTER 636: THE HUMAN HEART IS INSATIABLE LIKE A SNAKE SWALLOWING AN ELEPHANT

Teacher Zhao couldn’t outtalk Lin Fan, and was at a loss for words after being refuted by Lin. When Lin placed an enormous blame on her, Teacher Zhao panicked and rushed to get rid of Lin Fan.

After all, Lin Fan was just a poor nobody; as long as she could drive him away, the matter would be over.

However, at this moment, two unexpected people appeared in front of Teacher Zhao—Mayor Long and the Principal!

The moment she recognized Mayor Long, Teacher Zhao’s face turned pale with fright.

"Mayor...!"

Oh my God, why would the mayor be here?

Is this a dream!

Never mind why the mayor is here, but clearly, he heard the conversation she just had with Lin Fan!

"You’re Teacher Zhao, right? Hello, I’m the mayor," Mayor Long said with a smile.

Teacher Zhao opened her mouth, wanting to speak, but she was so nervous that no sound came out.

Mayor Long said, "Regarding what Mr. Lin just said, do you have any views? Feel free to rebut him; I would like to hear it."

"I..." Teacher Zhao managed to squeeze out one word but couldn’t continue.

Mayor Long’s expression darkened and he said coldly, "Principal Li, is this your school’s excellent teacher? Is she here to teach or to make money?"

The primary school principal, following Mayor Long, was so frightened that he shivered and immediately smiled apologetically, "Mayor, I was shocked by the words of Teacher Zhao just now. It’s simply earth-shattering. I didn’t know she was this kind of person; I was too surprised, too shocked, I will definitely deal with this seriously!"

Mayor Long replied, "Oh, and how do you plan to deal with it?"

Principal Li said, "The words and actions of Teacher Zhao severely violate the teachers’ ethics, effective immediately, she will be suspended, and the school will further investigate her. Following that, she’ll be removed from the teaching staff."

Thud!

Teacher Zhao was terrified and dropped to her knees on the spot, crying and pleading, "I’m sorry, Mayor, I was wrong, I know I was wrong, I will never dare again, please give me a chance!"

Mayor Long said, "What do you know you did wrong?"

Teacher Zhao replied, "I shouldn’t have discriminated against the students. It was all because of my obsession with money, losing myself. But you can’t blame me entirely; teachers’ salaries are too low, I need to earn money to support my family, and thus opened a tutoring class."

Mayor Long turned his head to ask Principal Li, "Is Teacher Zhao’s salary really low?"

Principal Li replied, "Teacher Zhao is a special-grade teacher with rich teaching experience. We headhunted her with a high salary; it’s not low. Her salary plus various benefits result in an annual income of over 100,000 yuan, which counts as a high-income bracket in Tianhai City, and among teachers, she earns more than most. It’s like the saying, ’insatiable like a snake swallowing an elephant.’

Mayor Long nodded and looked at Teacher Zhao, "You earn 100,000 a year and still claim your salary is low, and open a tutoring class to make money. So according to you, those teachers with monthly salaries of three or four thousand shouldn’t even live?"

Teacher Zhao was speechless, "I..."

Lin Fan said, "Stop making excuses. Ultimately, you are just obsessed with money. No one thinks they have too much money. This has nothing to do with your annual income; it’s a problem with your character. Even if you earned 1 million a year, you’d still seize any chance to make money. Speaking of teachers’ income, are you earning less than the rural teachers present? Perhaps we can hear them talk about their income, like Teacher Wei Yue’er who volunteers in the countryside."

Wei Yue’er said, "I am a teacher volunteering in West River Village. My basic monthly salary is about 2,000 yuan, but I don’t care about this salary. I just want to do my best to help the children in the countryside."

Several other rural teachers also talked about their income, mostly two or three thousand yuan, which is really low compared to Teacher Zhao.

Lin Fan said, "Teacher Zhao, look at these teachers who are dedicated to rural education. Do you still think your salary is low?"

Teacher Zhao blushed with shame, but she couldn’t just let it go like this. She’s currently facing suspension and has to save herself.

"Can my situation and theirs be the same? They are in the countryside, where the cost of living is inherently lower than in the city, and secondly, I am a special-grade teacher. My level is higher than theirs; they come to listen to my lectures. Why shouldn’t my salary be higher than theirs? It’s quite normal," Teacher Zhao retorted.

Lin Fan looked at Wei Yue’er, nodded, and indicated it was time for Wei Yue’er to speak.

Wei Yue’er felt warmed in her heart; fortunately, she had Lin Fan, who had already helped her greatly, and now it was up to her.

Wei Yue’er shook her head and said, "Teacher Zhao, you are a special-grade teacher, no doubt. In teaching, you indeed have aspects worth learning from, but this doesn’t mean our knowledge level is lower than yours. Take the question on the blackboard, you said that Chen Simin’s method is the optimal solution, which you taught her in your class. However, it is not the optimal solution."

Teacher Zhao sneered, "Do you have a better solution? Do you think you’re better than me?"

Wei Yue’er said, "I don’t dare claim that, but I believe there could be a better solution, as just now Luo Xiaojuan also mentioned another solution, didn’t she?"

Just now, because Luo Xiaojuan proposed another solution, it angered Teacher Zhao, causing her to explode on the spot.

Because Luo Xiaojuan’s parents didn’t sign her up for Teacher Zhao’s tutoring class, depriving her of earnings, Teacher Zhao despised these poor people’s children.

Luo Xiaojuan was scolded by Teacher Zhao and was scared into silence.

Mayor Long asked, "Principal Li, what is the academic standing of Luo Xiaojuan?"

Principal Li said, "Although Xiaojuan’s family is poor, she studies very diligently and has great talent."

Mayor Long nodded, "I see, Xiaojuan, since you have another solution, why not write it on the blackboard and let us see?"

"Luo Xiaojuan, don’t be afraid, now you have brothers and sisters supporting you," Wei Yue’er said softly.

"Why not do this: I’ll go up there with you. We’ll each solve the problem and compare whose solution is better, how about that?"

With Wei Yue’er backing her, Luo Xiaojuan became less scared, gathered her courage, and nodded.

Thus, Wei Yue’er and Luo Xiaojuan went on stage together, each standing on one side, and began to solve the problem.

Soon, both of them finished writing their solutions.

After completing, they found that their solutions were identical; their thought process was the same, and this method was significantly more concise than Chen Simin’s previous solution!

Several rural teachers saw this and nodded in agreement, indicating that the method was excellent.

Teacher Zhao’s expression changed because she had to admit that Wei Yue’er and Luo Xiaojuan’s method was indeed better than hers.

Wei Yue’er said, "Teacher Zhao, do you have anything to say?"

Lin Fan said, "Although Luo Xiaojuan’s family is poor, she doesn’t lack talent. Yet Teacher Zhao, because she is a poor child, you disparaged and belittled her. She might become disheartened, and a talent could be smothered in its infancy. You being a teacher like this, you are leading students astray. Teacher Zhao, after being suspended, do you still think it’s unfair? Do you still think obsessing over money is not wrong?"

Teacher Zhao was so ashamed that she blushed and slumped to the ground, staring down without uttering a word.

Mayor Long laughed heartily, "Mr. Lin, this matter is resolved. Can Mr. Lin visit the city hall as my guest?"

What?

Everyone exchanged glances in disbelief, Mayor Long inviting this poor guy to the city hall. Who is he really?