A Literary Life Starting from the First Year of High School

Let's rewind to that morning, at the Xinhua Bookstore on Nanjing Road.

At 8:40 a.m., just half an hour after the bookstore opened, five or six people were already waiting at the door the moment the roller shutter was fully raised.

Old Sun stood behind the cashier. He had worked at this bookstore for eight years and had seen all sorts of scenes—the rush to buy educational materials a week before the start of the school year, the children's book promotion season during winter and summer vacations, and the peak season for gift books before and after the New Year. But there was one phenomenon at the beginning of this year that he hadn't expected.

It's a fairy tale book, not a textbook, not a bestselling novel, but a fairy tale book that has been out of stock since the beginning of the year.

"Old Sun, the Little Prince in the fairy tale section is gone again." It was Xiao Zhou, a young woman in her early twenties, who spoke. "The shelves are empty, and we've checked the warehouse too, but there isn't a single copy. It arrived yesterday, and it's gone in just one day."

Old Sun frowned. This was the third time the book had run out of stock since the Spring Festival. The first time, he thought it was due to insufficient stock. The second time, he urged the supplier. The third time, he began to think that the book's momentum was not just "selling well," but "crazy."

"What did the supplier say?"

"They said the next batch of goods won't arrive until the day after tomorrow. The printing plant is fully booked, and even working overtime can't meet the demand." Xiao Zhou's tone was tinged with helplessness. "In the half hour since we opened, three people have already come to ask about it."

Old Sun sighed. He knew that this kind of thing couldn't be blamed on the suppliers. It was common for the entire supply chain to be unable to keep up when a book became so popular. But this "popularity" was a little different. It wasn't driven by the author's fame. It was spread by word of mouth among readers, one person telling ten, ten telling a hundred, like a snowball rolling bigger and bigger.

"Go and remove that booth in the fairy tale section and replace it with other books. You can put it back up when the goods arrive."

At 9:15 a.m., the bookstore gradually became more crowded. On the first day of high school, parents usually make up the majority of customers who come to buy supplementary teaching materials. They hold book lists in their hands and bury themselves in the supplementary teaching materials section, while the fairy tale section is on the second floor corner and is relatively quiet. But today is different.

A woman in a gray cotton-padded coat led a little boy up to the second floor. The boy was about six or seven years old, carrying a backpack with Ultraman printed on it, and he hopped and skipped as he walked.

"Mom, is this it?" the boy asked, pointing to the bookshelves in the fairy tale section.

"Hmm, let's look for it."

The two walked to the bookshelf and scanned it from top to bottom. The boy stood on tiptoe but couldn't reach the top row. His mother helped him flip through it, and her brows slowly furrowed.

"no."

"How could you not have any?" the boy's voice suddenly rose. "All my classmates bought some! I'm the only one who didn't!"

His mother knelt down and asked, "Are you sure it's called 'The Little Prince'?"

"Yes, that's the one! I already told my deskmate I'd buy it today and bring it to school for him to see tomorrow!"

"The bookstore is closed. Can we come again next time?"

"Oh no!" The boy's mouth clenched, and his eyes began to redden, looking like he was about to cry.

His mother sighed, stood up, and took his hand to walk downstairs. The boy followed reluctantly, glancing back at the bookshelf every few steps, his eyes filled with resentment.

At 10:20 a.m., a young couple walked into the bookstore. The man was wearing a dark blue work uniform, and the woman was wearing a red down jacket; they both appeared to be in their early thirties.

The woman walked to the cashier and asked, "Excuse me, which section has a book called 'The Little Prince'?"

Old Sun pointed towards the stairs, "The fairy tale section, second floor, but the shelves are already sold out. The next batch won't arrive until the day after tomorrow."

The woman's face showed obvious disappointment. "Sold out again? I've been to several stores already."

"Why don't you leave your phone number? I'll let you know when the goods arrive."

The woman hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "Never mind, I'll come back the day after tomorrow." She turned and walked out, with the man following behind her. When they reached the door, the man said, "How about buying it online?" The woman turned back and said, "Even online, you have to wait. The bookstore is about the same."

At 11:30, lunchtime was approaching, and the bookstore was less crowded. Xiao Zhou came down from the second floor with a registration book in his hand and walked to the cashier.

"Old Sun, I've written down the phone numbers of all the people who asked me about 'The Little Prince,' twelve of them."

"Okay, let them know when the goods arrive."

Xiao Zhou took the registration book upstairs, while Lao Sun took out his phone from the drawer, found the supplier's number, and dialed it.

"Hey, Manager Li, this is Lao Sun from Xinhua Bookstore. When exactly can you ship that copy of 'The Little Prince'?... I know the printing plant can't finish it, but you have to give me a definite answer... The day after tomorrow? How many can you ship the day after tomorrow?... Two hundred copies? Not enough, ship two hundred first, and we'll make up the rest later... Okay, it's settled then."

After hanging up the phone, he did some mental calculations. From the beginning of the year until now, nearly a thousand copies of "The Little Prince" had been sold in their bookstore, which was a record-breaking number for children's books.

At 2 p.m., the bookstore was at its quietest time of day. People who had taken a lunch break had gone back to work, and it wasn't time for school to end yet. Only a few customers remained in the store.

Old Sun sat on a small stool in the warehouse, lit a cigarette, and recalled that when the distribution department came to the store last week for a round of inspections, they said, "This book has already sold over 50,000 copies nationwide, and it's still going up."

At six o'clock in the afternoon, the number of people in the bookstore increased again. Nearby middle school students were letting out of school one after another, and students in school uniforms walked in in twos and threes.

A boy in a dark blue school uniform walked in and went straight to the second floor.

Less than five minutes later, the boy came down from the second floor, carrying nothing in his hands, but his expression wasn't good. He walked to the cashier, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Uncle, is the copy of 'The Little Prince' upstairs sold out?"

Old Sun nodded. "Sold out. The next shipment will arrive the day after tomorrow."

The boy said "Oh," then looked down and took out his phone from his pocket, making a call: "I couldn't buy it, the bookstore is sold out." Old Sun vaguely heard a girl's voice on the other end of the phone. When the boy walked out of the store, he said, "Then I'll come back the day after tomorrow," and then hung up.

A young man in a courier company uniform walked in, carrying a packed cardboard box. He went to the cashier and said, "Hello, I have a package. Please sign for it."

Old Sun took the order and glanced at it; it was a return order.

"What book are you returning?"

"The Little Prince, the customer said they bought too many when they placed the order, so they want to return two copies."

Old Sun was stunned for a moment. This was the first book return he had encountered today. He opened the cardboard box and found two copies of "The Little Prince" neatly stacked inside, still wrapped in plastic.

Old Sun took the two books out of the cardboard box and placed them on the shelf next to the cashier. He thought for a moment, picked up the phone, flipped to the first number in the register—the young girl who had visited three bookstores—and dialed it.

"Hello, this is Xinhua Bookstore. We just received two returned copies of 'The Little Prince' that you asked about before. Would you like them?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then a delighted voice exclaimed, "Yes, yes, yes! I'm coming right away!"