Meanwhile, the same thing was happening at bookstores all over the country.
By 1:47 p.m.,
the 500 copies at the Xinhua Bookstore downstairs from Xiao Ke's home had completely sold out.
In just one hour and 47 minutes, all 500 copies were gone.
The store manager was beaming.
Aside from the rush of students buying textbooks during the first few days of a new school term, the store usually couldn't sell 500 books in two months.
Who would have thought they'd sell 500 copies in just one hour and 47 minutes today?
Brother Yi really was popular.
But one problem followed right on the heels of another: what should they do about the people still waiting in line?
Even after the books sold out, more than a hundred people were still waiting.
They'd repeatedly told those at the back of the line that there was no point waiting because they wouldn't be able to buy a book today. But the people were stubborn and stayed put, and many had already started shouting angrily.
"What kind of bookstore are you running? How can a bookstore not have any books?"
"I've been in line for three hours, and now you're telling me you're out? I even skipped work this morning to come queue up!"
"I didn't deliver food today so I could buy Brother Yi's autobiography, and you're telling me you're out?"
The store manager apologized again and again, but the people weren't having it.
With no other choice, the manager said:
"Really, we're sorry. Our store was only allocated 500 copies. You could stand here and curse me out or beat me up, and at most you'd get to vent your anger. There still wouldn't be any books."
"To accommodate everyone, even our own employees didn't get to buy a copy.