The sound of camels grunting brought Xiao Gao running. His father had finally returned. Lao Gao was a trader on the Silk Road. His camel caravan had travelled through oases and deserts. At each staging station there were foreign middlemen waiting for Chinese traders, like Lao Gao, to trade their beautiful bolts of silk, scrolls of paper and boxes of porcelain and tea. Lao Gao also brought back exotic products like saffron powder, pistachio nuts and Egyptian glass bottles. Trading on the Silk Road was hard and exacting, but Lao Gao's heart was still pulled by the call to adventure. Lao Gao thought that one day, he would take his son and walk the Silk Road.