Chapter 215

When a show becomes too popular, it inevitably attracts “green-eyed monsters^[1]” looking to stir up trouble.

Li Erni’s incident had barely passed when another “brick-expert^[2]” emerged to attack The Way of Shennong for being attention-seeking.

This expert, named Wang Yongnian, was technically a veteran in the medical industry. His professional capabilities were undeniable, and he had authored several books. However, his reputation within the industry was complicated because he frequently endorsed various health supplements and “miracle cures.”

Wang Yongnian wasn’t a mindless hater. He specifically posted a long article that began by acknowledging the positive impact The Way of Shennong had on promoting the traditional culture of Chinese medicinal herbs. Then, with an air of earnest concern, he stated: “Medicine, whether Eastern or Western, is a profound field of study. It is absolutely not like what is advertised in this show, where one can become a doctor simply by reading a few reference books and receiving guidance from a mentor for a short while.”

Therefore, Wang Yongnian offered a suggestion to the production team. If they truly wanted to promote China’s herbal culture, they should prioritize recruiting current students from various Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Studies colleges for the Season 2 selection. Firstly, these students had undergone systematic professional coursework, and their foundation was much better than the school dropouts featured in the first season.

Secondly, since they had applied to TCM colleges, they clearly intended to pursue this industry as a career. Wouldn’t letting professional people do professional things be much better than the production team laboriously teaching from scratch?

There was another reason Wang Yongnian didn’t mention, but netizens today aren’t so easily manipulated. Some diligent people looked up this Expert Wang’s resume and immediately understood why he was so biased toward medical students from traditional academic backgrounds.

It was simple. He was a professor at a domestic TCM university and had published several teaching supplementary books. Of course he would fight tooth and nail to grab resources for his own disciples.

But why should he?

On one side were college students already enrolled in medical universities, supported by their families and helped by their teachers. Their futures were bright, or at least they had many more paths available than ordinary people. If they didn’t want to practice medicine, they could take the civil service exam, apply for government positions, or get teaching certifications. Even if those failed, private clinics and pharmacies offered plenty of job opportunities.

On the other side were children from poor farming families. Some hadn’t even finished middle school before being forced to work in the city to survive. Many were like Li Erni, who had to cut and sell her hair just to afford the travel expenses to register for the competition. This show might be the only chance they ever had to change their destinies.

Just because you think medical students are more suitable for promoting herbal culture, you want to snatch this resource away and eliminate these kids with no foundation at the very first stage?

Once people realized this, even those who weren’t fans of The Way of Shennong couldn’t help but feel outraged.

Surprisingly, the ones who fired the “first shot against Wang” were actually students from various medical colleges.

Netizen “Either Pass or Hang”: I respect Professor Wang’s freedom of speech, but I oppose his statement! Herbal culture is a long-standing national culture of the Chinese people. It belongs to the entire nation. Everyone is qualified to promote our own national culture. Medical students should not enjoy this privilege.

Netizen “Remind Me to Memorize Books When You See Me”: We are all descendants of Yan and Huang^[3]. I don’t believe anyone is “qualified” or “unqualified” to spread their own national culture. I’m a junior preparing for postgraduate exams, but I’m also following this show. To be honest, I prefer watching these younger brothers and sisters explore the mysterious world of Chinese herbs with curiosity and wonder, rather than watching a bunch of medical students reciting textbooks to the camera.

Netizen “Don’t Look for Me When You’re Sick”: I’m so tired of being “represented.” Professor Wang, next time you speak, please add a disclaimer saying “only represents myself.” As a medical student, I think The Way of Shennong is incredibly well-made. Many of my classmates are following it. Also, I hope the professors who write textbooks watch this show more often. Seriously! Textbooks could be written to be a bit more interesting. We really don’t want to just memorize line after line anymore!

Wang Yongnian: “…”

Guagua Video: Hahahaha.

The most opportunistic player was a certain publishing house. They had already reached an agreement with the production team to release a set of educational and entertaining illustrated herb guides that ordinary people could understand, based on the popular science content from the show. They planned to include legends and stories related to TCM. This “merchandise” was something many parents would surely be willing to buy for their children.

Seeing Wang Yongnian being scolded by his own kind, the publishing house took the opportunity to buy a trending search spot for themselves. While they were at it, they promoted their upcoming “blockbuster” herb guide and called out Expert Wang.

“You don’t need to worry about ‘ordinary people’ being misled by this show. We’ve decided to publish a professional book as a supplementary reader for the program. Fans of the show shouldn’t miss out! On the day of release, orders placed through our official online store will have a chance to receive an autograph from a popular contestant of The Way of Shennong.”

Wang Yongnian: “…”

However, he had originally posted that article to stir up controversy and increase his account’s popularity. Seeing the heat rising, Expert Wang immediately posted a second blog. He claimed he wasn’t discriminating against non-professional medical enthusiasts, but was merely reminding the production team from a professional perspective not to over-sensationalize a field that required extreme professional rigor. Otherwise, it would lead to negative social consequences.

For example, many people now consult search engines instead of going to the hospital when they get sick. Isn’t this misleading the public?

This was a decent argument. Soon, some rigorous academics stepped forward to support Expert Wang, stating that Professor Wang was right. Medicine is a matter of life and death; how could it be turned into entertainment?

Guagua Video was suddenly put on the defensive.

Discussing professional medical knowledge? That… that wasn’t the strength of their marketing department.

At the critical moment, they had to rely on their God of Wealth.

Actually, Wei Sheng had already addressed this issue back when the program was first being planned.

Could someone really become a doctor or get into a medical university just by reading a few books and attending a few days of lectures? Even webnovel authors wouldn’t dare write something so unrealistic. Therefore, when the planning proposal was submitted, Wei Sheng’s side had included a supplementary suggestion.

After the program ended, if there were contestants among the top one hundred who showed genuine talent, a deep interest in traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, and a desire to work in the industry in the future, Yuanxi Biotech would consult with the contestants themselves. If they were willing, they could join the Traditional Chinese Medicine Planting Cooperatives affiliated with Yuanxi Biotech as interns.

There, professional mentors would lead them into a deeper understanding of the industry, teaching them hand-on how to cultivate, plant, and harvest various medicinal materials, including grading standards and other essential skills. These were things that might not be taught in textbooks but were indispensable skills for the job.

To put it simply, from the very beginning, Wei Sheng had no intention of making these children enter medical school through regular channels. The primary reason was that the path was too long. For medical students, an undergraduate degree was just the starting point. Without a master’s or a doctorate, it was difficult to even find a job, and the income during the first few years of work wouldn’t be very high.

In an ordinary farming family, it cost a fortune to support a university student. Many families even had to borrow money for tuition, counting on the child to earn money and repay the debt after graduation. How could you expect them to study all the way to a doctorate in one go?

Even if the students themselves could endure the hardship, their families might not be able to wait that long.

Therefore, the career path Wei Sheng had planned for them was to bypass formal academic education and go straight to the workplace, accumulating the necessary professional skills on the job. This way, Yuanxi Biotech could train its own Management Trainees according to its specific staffing needs.

For the contestants, joining Yuanxi Biotech as company interns also offered many benefits.

The first was that their livelihood would be secured. Interns at Yuanxi Biotech received a stipend. Specifically for the Management Trainees handpicked by Wei Sheng, the company provided free room and board during the internship period, plus a monthly living allowance of 1,500 yuan.

Since the internship work was mainly based at various medicinal herb cultivation bases, there were basically no opportunities to spend money. A monthly allowance of 1,500 yuan was not only enough for their own needs, but if they were frugal, they could even send some money home to help their families.

The second benefit was their future prospects. Wei Sheng didn’t even need to explain this; everyone at Guagua Video knew that Yuanxi Biotech was currently expanding at a rapid pace. According to private gossip among the mentors hired by the production team, everyone was very optimistic about Wei Sheng’s company. They felt that within ten years, it would become the leading enterprise in Nine Streams County.

Joining a company during its startup phase as a “Management Trainee” meant that once the enterprise grew large and powerful, they would be well-positioned as genuine “management.”

Under Wei Sheng’s remote command, Yuanxi Biotech’s official weibo quickly released a statement, and the official account of “The Way of Shennong” immediately forwarded the post.

The fans of the show had lost an online argument with a group of academics the day before and were currently feeling frustrated. Seeing the production team post on weibo, they rushed in immediately.

As expected, “The Way of Shennong” never disappointed them.

“The top eight contestants all have the chance to join Yuanxi Biotech as Management Trainees? Holy crap! What kind of god-tier reward is this? Excuse me, is the production team still recruiting students for the next season? The undergraduate graduate kind.”

“I finally understand why the contestants are burning the midnight oil^[4]. What’s a 500,000 yuan grand prize compared to this? If you can really get into Yuanxi Biotech, that’s a lifelong iron rice bowl^[5]!”

“The person above is being too modest. Let me correct you, it’s not an iron rice bowl, it’s a golden rice bowl^[6]. I’m very familiar with Yuanxi Biotech. My cousin works there. Her position and department are confidential, but word is her department won the company’s Outstanding Contribution Award last year. Between her personal year-end bonus and the department bonus, she took home over a hundred thousand yuan in bonuses alone last year!”

“Say no more. I’ve already ordered Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica and I’m preparing to pull an all-nighter to memorize it.”

“Okay, I’ve seen it. You can delete this now so others don’t see. I’m already forcing my younger sister to memorize the books.”

After the statements from Guagua Video and Yuanxi Biotech were released, netizens no longer cared about the online battle between the academic and practical schools. Those who didn’t meet the registration requirements for “The Way of Shennong” were practically beating their chests in regret, while families with eligible children were jumping for joy.

In this day and age, even university graduates struggled to find employment. If a child didn’t make it into a good university, it might be better to have them sign up for “The Way of Shennong.” What if they got lucky and made it into the top eight? The prize money was secondary; being directly rewarded with a job was a much more powerful incentive.

Once they calmed down and thought about it, the onlookers realized the truth!

No wonder that Professor Wang had jumped out so frantically! One moment he was saying the young contestants hadn’t undergone professional, systematic study and couldn’t bear the heavy responsibility of promoting China’s medicinal herb culture. The next, he was suggesting the production team give priority to formal students from major TCM universities for the show…

It turned out he had some inside information! He knew the top eight contestants would get a good job in addition to the prize money, so he couldn’t wait to jump out and snatch resources for his own students?

Pah! What a shameless expert! Just because he wanted to secure good jobs for his students, he was willing to step over a group of children from poor backgrounds to get ahead. How could such a person be fit to be a teacher?

In an instant, the netizens, believing they had uncovered the truth, turned their spears toward Wang Yongnian once again.

Poor Professor Wang! He had used inflammatory tactics for years to gain followers, but this time he had finally played with fire and gotten himself trapped in the blaze.

(End of Chapter)