劉員外請人送請帖給三叔公，三叔公拿出帖子說：「十月一……」看完後對僕人大喊：「今晚不用煮飯了，劉員外一日晚上要請我吃飯啊！」便開始把一天吃兩餐改為只喝茶。
可是，到了一日晚上劉員外沒有派人來，他就將請帖慢慢地拿出來看說：「十月二……」三叔公瞭解原來是自己看錯了就說：「唉呀！原來是十月二日啊！年紀大都眼花囉！雖然肚子很餓，再忍耐一天也沒關係啦！」說完後就上床睡覺。
到了十月二日這天晚上，還是沒有人來接三叔公，他趕緊把整張帖子拿出來看，便恍然大悟說：「原來是十月三日啊！我真是個老糊塗。但是，我已經餓得受不了，乾脆叫阿梅煮顆雞蛋給我吃吧！」當雞蛋一煮熟，三叔公心想：「細嚼慢嚥很快就會消化，不如把殼剝掉整個吞下去。」於是，就一口氣把蛋吞下去，結果雞蛋梗在喉嚨裡，三叔公因此窒息而斷氣。
三叔公斷氣後全家人都很傷心，買了棺材把他的遺體放進去，又請人在棺蓋上打釘子，打釘子的震動，大的讓三叔公喉頭裡的雞蛋脫口而出，三叔公醒來後還不知道自己躺在棺材裡，聽到打釘子的聲音以為有人在敲門，便大喊：「阿梅，快開門啊！劉員外來請我吃飯囉！」
One morning, Landlord Liu asked his servant to send an invitation to Sanshu Gong. Sanshu Gong opened the letter and started reading from the top, “You are invited to join me…” He threw down the letter and told his servant, “Don't prepare dinner for me tonight! Landlord Liu has invited me over for dinner today!”
Sanshu Gong waited all morning for the Landlord's servant to come and lead him to the Landlord's home, but soon it was afternoon, and the Landlord's servant was nowhere to be seen. Sanshu Gong opened the letter again and continued to read, “You are invited to join me for dinner…” Sanshu Gong threw down the letter again and said, "Oh! The landlord wanted to invite me for dinner tomorrow night, not today! Though I am very hungry, I guess I can bear the hunger a little while longer.” He climbed back into bed and slept till evening.
Sanshu Gong became even hungrier after waking up, and he waited anxiously for the Landlord's servant to arrive. He waited and waited, but still, no one came. Sanshu Gong quickly went back to read the letter, “You are invited to join me for dinner tomorrow night.” “Oh! I'm so muddleheaded! But I can't bear the hunger anymore.” Sanshu Gong asked his servant to boil him an egg. But when the egg came, he thought to himself, “If I chew the egg, it will be digested quickly. I should swallow the whole egg to make it last longer.” So, Sanshu Gong swallowed the whole egg. However, the egg got stuck in his throat and he choked to death.
Sanshu Gong's family members were very sad to learn about his death. They bought a coffin and placed his body inside it. Then they nailed the coffin shut. As the nails were hammered in, the vibration dislodged the egg in Sanshu Gong's throat, and he regained consciousness. He didn't realize he was lying in a coffin, so, when he heard the hammering, he thought that someone was knocking on the door and shouted, “Quick! Open the door A-mei! The landlord has sent his servant to lead me to his place for dinner!”
