There were two brothers named Chang-Liang and Chang-Ming. They looked after their old mother together. One day, as younger brother Chang-Ming prepared to set off for the gambling den again, his brother tried to stop him by saying, “You have almost finished squandering our father's fortune! Don't forget that we need the money to take care of our mother!” Chang-Ming retorted, “You're the older brother. Taking care of mother is your responsibility, not mine.” Having said that, Chang-Ming left the house.

A few days later, landlord Liu celebrated his 60th birthday. He invited older brother Chang-Liang to the birthday party, and thanked Chang-Liang for helping to fix his roof. During dinner, the landlord saw Chang-Liang putting aside a chicken thigh, so, he asked, “Chang-Liang, don't you like to eat chicken thighs?” The Chang-Liang quickly replied, “I like chicken thighs, but my mother hasn't tasted meat in a very long time, and I would like to save this for her.” The landlord was pleased at Chang-Liang's reply and said, “You are such a filial son. Eat your chicken thigh, for I will ask my servants to pack one for your mother.”

Chang-Liang thanked the landlord and went home with the chicken thigh. But as he entered the house, he tripped over the threshold, and the chicken thigh fell onto the floor and got covered in dirt. His mother heard the noise and came to see what happened. Chang-Liang quickly told his mother how he had gotten the chicken thigh. His mother told him, “It's okay, my son. I can still have the chicken thigh after washing away the dirt.” Chang-Liang felt so guilty for dirtying the chicken thigh that was meant for his mother, so, he ran to an old tree and cried, “How could I let mother eat something that had dropped onto the floor? I am so unfilial! I should be struck down with lightning as punishment!” Suddenly, a lightning bolt came out of nowhere and struck down the old tree beside him. Chang-Liang saw a huge pot of gold hidden in its trunk, and thought to himself, “God must have sent me this gold to take care of mother. Thank you so much!”

After hearing how his older brother got the gold, Chang-Ming wanted a pot of gold too. So, he threw a chicken thigh onto the floor and gave it to his mother to eat. Then, he ran to a tree and pretended to cry, “Oh God, I deserve to die for dropping mother's chicken thigh onto the floor. Please strike me down with lightning, for I don't wish to live anymore.” Sure enough, there was a rumbling sound and a bolt of lightning struck Chang-Ming. God had granted his wish.

張良與張明兩兄弟一起撫養年邁的老母親，有一天弟弟張明又跑去賭博，哥哥阻止他說：「父親留下的家產快被你賭光了，我們還有母親要照顧啊！」弟弟回答：「大哥，照顧母親是你的責任，和我沒有關係。」說完便走出門。

幾天後，劉員外舉行六十大壽，邀請哥哥參加，順道答謝他幫忙整修家裡的屋頂，吃飯時員外看哥哥把雞腿放到一邊就問：「張良，你不喜歡吃雞腿嗎？」哥哥回答：「不是的，因為母親很久沒有吃到肉了，我想帶回去給她吃。」員外聽完高興地說：「難得有像你這麼孝順的人，等一下我再請人包一隻雞腿，給你帶回家孝敬母親。」

張良帶著雞腿回家，進門時卻絆了一跤，雞腿掉在地上沾滿泥土，母親聽見聲音走出來看著一臉驚慌的張良，他便將取得雞腿的由來告訴母親，母親對他說：「孩子啊！沒關係，雞腿髒了，只要用清水洗乾淨還是可以吃的。」看著母親啃著洗過的雞腿，張良難過地跑到老樹下大喊：「天哪！讓母親吃掉在地上的雞腿，我太不孝了，請懲罰我被雷劈吧！」忽然，烏雲密布一道閃電將樹劈開，裂縫中放了一甕黃金，張良心想：「難道老天可憐我，給我錢孝順母親，謝謝老天爺。」

好賭的弟弟也想像哥哥一樣得到黃金，就如法炮製拿沾滿泥土的肉給母親吃，再跑到樹下假哭說：「老天爺，我真該死，讓母親吃骯髒的雞腿，快讓雷神懲罰我，我不想活了。」結果，一陣雷聲巨響、電光閃爍，老天爺完成他的請求。