It is difficult to be smart and confused, and it is even more difficult to change from smart to confused. Zheng Banqiao described his career in officialdom like this.

Up to now, this sentence has been circulating for a long time, because it contains a lot of truth about being a man. If you want to be a smart person all your life, you must avoid the jealousy of the villain, otherwise you will lose your reputation and even your life. Being too smart can make people jealous, especially bosses or elders and people with high status and achievements. They don't like people who are too smart around them, so it is not easy to accept high praise for their talents. If they dare to rely on their talents again, they will never succeed. They will think, with a smart man like him, nothing can compare with me, so what do I need? People always have self-esteem. If you want to win a person, you must win his heart first, so that you can be really smart. This kind of cleverness is not only in knowledge, but also in life, such as interpersonal communication and psychological reconciliation between superiors and subordinates. It is necessary to get rid of and break through the gap between people in the double difficulties and embarrassment, as Mencius said: "Those who have lost their way will help less, and those who have gained the way will help more." This is the only way to be smart.

As for confusion, I don't mean stupidity. For example, when others say "be smart" and "turn a blind eye", we are told to become "confused" and pretend not to know what we know. What we have learned from Zheng Banqiao is "patience" and the golden mean. He suffered a lot in officialdom, and even if he was brilliant, he could not squeeze out any coolies. He was discouraged and had no choice. That's it. He must learn to be confused. He was tired of officialdom, indifferent to fame and fortune, and finally retired from Yangzhou, becoming a real "lost" person.

Don't think that he doesn't have the courage to face difficulties. He was a scholar, and the officialdom of feudal society was full of darkness. No matter how hard he tries, he can't break the "money worship" black hole that has been closely and firmly together.

It is best to live smartly, freely and foolishly, but how many people in this world can do it? It is difficult to be smart and confused, and it is even more difficult to change from smart to confused. If it is easy to do, wouldn't the four-letter word "confused" lose its value? The ancients regarded the "golden mean" as a model of Confucianism, with the original intention of "taking its two ends and using it." That is, get rid of extremes and choose the right path. This is a great thought with eternal truth and realism, which embodies broad spirit, broad mind and firm belief of "consistency" in modesty and firmness.

There are many philosophies in life, and one philosophy is enough to reflect our understanding of self-love and social survival. Many people will do it in moderation, but few people will persevere. And feel some experience from it. If you want to learn, you must be "flexible and smart." It should be easy to understand from the text! We can't always be smart, and we won't be confused for the rest of our lives. As long as we are like springs, we can be flexible without losing the essence.

Confused dad (narrative)

My father is a veteran. There are many wrinkles on his face. His black hair is mixed with some white hair. He has a pair of golden eyes and a face with the word "country" written on it, but his father is sometimes confused.

One Friday night, my father said to me, "Son, I will take you to climb the mountain tomorrow." I agreed happily. I got up early the next morning. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I didn't see my father get up. I woke him up. Father said, "can't you let me sleep for a while?" I said, "Go climbing today." Dad said, "OK, what mountain to climb?" I said, "Didn't you agree?" Dad just remembered, got up at once, and was so anxious that he put on his shoes backwards and buttoned them wrong. Then he rushed to the bathroom and began to wash his face and brush his teeth. My mother and I also went to the bathroom. As a result, my father used my mother's facial cleanser as "toothpaste", the foot-washing towel we used as a "face towel" and rubbed it on our face. Toothpaste was used as "shaving foam" and disinfectant was used repeatedly. After all this, my father saw my mother and I laughing and asked us why we were laughing. I told everything I just saw, and my father said loudly, "Why didn't you say so earlier, which made me like this." I rubbed my stomach and said, "I will remind you in the future."

Look, this is my confused father.