在清朝乾隆年间，浙江石门县洲泉人吴孟举是一位读书人。他家境富裕，拥有千亩良田，并且官职为内阁中书。虽然生活享受了荣华富贵，但他最渴望的却是长生不老的仙术。

听闻苏州民间将四月初八定为“神仙节”，传说这一天，天上神仙都会下凡一游。人们期待着能亲眼见到神通广大的仙人，因此每当这日，苏州便热闹非凡。但直到现在，无一人真实地见过神仙，只有用当地俗语：“见仙不识仙，富贵三千年”来取个吉利而已。

然而，不愿放弃的吴孟举决定前往苏州，以此碰碰运气。这一年四月初八，他早早抵达苏州，与众多的人们一起参与庆祝活动。他既不打红伞也不坐蓝轿，只带了四名亲兵，在街头凑热闹。这一天，全城摆满了各式货摊，还有卖艺人的表演。市井之声和笑语交织在一起，是一个难以忘怀的热闹场面。

吴孟举并未被这些景象吸引，而是留心观察行人的表情和行为，以寻找可能遇到的非凡人物。在他的巡视中，他无意中来到了八里桥边，一位衣衫褴褛、手持破竹拐杖的叫化子走下桥来，这个叫化子嘴里衔着一枚铜钿，用呼吸声发出“嘘、嘘”的声音。

被这个模样深深吸引的吴孟举，上前向叫化子作了一揖。对方惊讶地问：“你怎么对我这样？你不是堂堂内阁中书老爷吗？” 吴孟举微笑着问：“请问，你可就是吕洞宾？” 叫化子回答：“从何而来？”

Wu Mengju pointed to the copper coin in the mouth of the beggar and said, "You hold a copper coin in your mouth, and it is twisted into two. Twisted into Lu also!" The beggar replied: "So it is. Since today we have become acquaintances, I will give you a few lines of poetry."

He used his broken bamboo cane to write on the railing of the bridge:

I have lived in Suzhou for many years,

No one knows that I am a god.

Only Wu Mengju from Shouquan knows

That I am not destined to be with him.

The beggar finished writing and disappeared. Wu Mengju was convinced that he had truly met the immortal Lu Dongbin. He returned home and pondered over the poem left by Lu Dongbin. He realized that he was rich but lacked simplicity.

Soon after, under Lu Dongbin's advice, Wu Mengju resigned from his official position and returned to his hometown, dividing his land and property among his relatives before living out his days as a simple scholar in seclusion. After death, he was buried at Ma Cemetery west of Shouquan Village. It is said that later someone dug up Wu Mengju's tomb but found no precious items accompanying him; this proves that during old age, Wu Mengju indeed chose poverty over wealth.

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