Along A Silken Way

The story follows the adventures of three friends as they try to find wealth along the Silk Road of cenrtal Asia. Hui is a "caravan rat" with a grand dream to trade lapis lazuli from Afghanistan. Mei Xing is a slave girl he finds himself owning and then becoming friends with and finally freeing. Zhung Yi is an idealistic dreamer fooled into travelling by his family and left penniless. Hui and Mei travel to Afghanistan and meet Zhung Yi. They travel into the mountains to trade for the jewel but find a hapless miner who agrees to let them dig for the jewels themselves. Thestory folows the evolution of each of the friends. Mei Xing is a hapless slave with only two talents, making tea and talking. She evolves into a strong woman, wanting to be free and finsdingthat being a woman in Medieval Asia is not the freedom she wishes. Hui wants money, he learns that what he wanted was the things money could not but compansion ship and maybe love. Zhung Yi grows from being hopeless to being able to stand for his rights through the gift of friendship