Alexis slammed the door in her finest pal’s face, who was nonetheless speaking and dove onto her mattress. “I’ll be down later!” she yelled. She loves Maia, however Maia is a talker. Alexis wanted silence to learn grandma’s subsequent letter.Since her 16th birthday, Alexis has cared an increasing number of about these letters and fewer and fewer about events. Her pals do not get it, however she would not care. All she cares about is studying the subsequent letter. She sighs with pleasure as she opens the envelope, inhaling that now-familiar scent because it rises from the outdated pages.Pricey Alexis,I hope your 20th birthday is one that may encourage you to make courageous decisions – similar to these our ancestors made.The eldest of Charlie and Tyan’s great-grandchildren was Wei, a daughter. She was the direct feminine descendant of her great-grandmother Charlie and he or she had inherited not solely Charlie’s spirit of journey, but additionally her bravery.Wei had change into well-known within the area because the meant heiress of the household’s extraordinarily profitable silk farm. However, being rich within the time after the Han Dynasty ended, additionally meant you had been a goal. Her father was pressuring her into an organized marriage and there was stress in the home; Wei’s brother Tang believed he ought to inherit the farm, not Wei. It went in opposition to customized, he mentioned, for a daughter to inherit.An pressing whisper from a cousin at a current household gathering confirmed her worst suspicion. “Wei,” the cousin mentioned, “the people say you won’t survive if you take over the business. Your brother wants blood. He has rallied the farm workers against you.”So together with her pearls sewn right into a silk pocket on the within of her gown, bolstered with hemp in order that it would not tear, Wei set out on a stolen mare, Tallulah, at the hours of darkness of the night time. Subsequent to the pearls, sewn between the hemp and the silk, was a patch bearing a couple of hundred silkworm eggs.Wei took a large threat. The penalty for smuggling silkworms or their eggs out of China was demise, however she had conceived of this plan within the yr she turned 16 when her mom entrusted her together with her grandmother’s string of heirloom pearls. The burden of the pearls and the reminiscence of the morning that her mom put them in her palms, and instructed her the tales of the ladies who got here earlier than her, strengthened her spirit.When she reached the port, she kissed Tallulah goodbye, promoting her to a kind-looking horse dealer, and he or she used the cash to pay her passage to Japan. The time had come to fulfill up with the person who visited the farm within the yr she turned sixteen: Akira.Akira confirmed up on the farm shortly after Wei’s birthday, in search of the key to creating silk. She eavesdropped as her mom scolded him: “Go! Do you want us all to die? I don’t know what you’re talking about – we don’t know how to make silk!”Wei knew it was her solely probability. She slipped out of the farm gates and ran after him.”I’ll bring you the secret,” she mentioned. “But I’ll need shelter in return.””How do I know you’ll come?” he requested.”I have no future here. My father intends me to marry someone I don’t know, who knows nothing about silk. And my brother wants to kill me.”Akira nonetheless seemed uncertain. “I’ll give you a clue,” Wei mentioned, determined to show her reliability. “The secret is very small. And it will come in the winter when the trees are bare.”Akira nodded, nonetheless uncertain, and gave her an handle – a market. “If you make it, this is where I’ll be. I am a trader looking to learn more. I won’t stop until I find it.”And right here she was, in entrance of his tiny stall. He did not acknowledge her when she spoke. “I’m here,” she mentioned. He frowned. Wei watched the confusion on his face change to astonishment, after which to respect. He smiled. Then his smile break up into a giant, huge snort. “You made it!”Wei fingered the pearls urgent in opposition to her aspect. After all, I made it, she thought. With these pearls by my aspect, how may I not?Love,GrandmaWe hope that this story impressed you. If you do not have heirloom pearl jewellery to provide to your daughters or granddaughters but, go to our store to start out your individual heirloom pearl custom. Your women can have one thing to take energy from, and that reminds them of the way you overcame your struggles.