Looking for a 1950s Period Novel, Nothing Headache-Inducing Like Courtyard House Stories 找年代文，不要四合院这种看着脑壳疼的，五零的

1. 51 重 Reborn: Back to 1983 to Become a Tycoon 重生：回到1983当富翁 Half Gratitude, Half Grudge恩怨各一半Urban3.4M WordsCompleted (The print edition is now available on JD.com! The text has been carefully revised and is even more exciting. There are plenty of discounts right now, so if you're interested, go grab a copy!) Zhou Yufeng, a corporate CEO, unexpectedly returns to 1983, an era of planned economies and feeling one's way across the river by touching the stones. With his lovely wife wanting a divorce and his younger brother and sister struggling to get by, watch as he turns the business world upside down and changes 132.4kReads9.3Score16.2kShelves
2. 52 重 Reborn: The Winds of Change in 1994 重生：风起1994 Sword Shining on Cold Frost剑照寒霜Urban2.0M WordsCompleted Su Changqing, paralyzed for over twenty years, was reborn in 1994 with a heart full of pain and regret! In his previous life, his paralysis destroyed his family, leaving them broken and ruined! This time, he would turn his fate around! He would sell delicious food, open factories, build businesses, and take his products across the country and around the world, becoming a food industry tycoon! He would lead his whole family to a prosperous, peaceful, and happy life! 7.2kReads8.7Score430Shelves
3. 53 重 Reborn in 1990: Starting a Business with a Single Dime 重生1990：从一毛钱开始创业 October Sunshine十月暖阳Urban815k WordsCompleted Xiao Daoming, a rising business tycoon, unexpectedly returned to 1990. From the start, his biological parents cut ties with him. Even more bewildering, he was behind on rent and had not a penny to his name. At least Zhu Yuanzhang had a broken bowl when he started out. What did that leave him with? Fortunately, his sweet little niece gave him a ten-cent coin. Fine, he’d use that dime to start a business. Back in 1990, making money was almost too easy. In this life, he would make the two Mas bow a 954Reads8.5Score101Shelves
4. 54 重 Rebooting 1988 重启1988 Year's End年末Urban2.7M WordsCompleted Millionaire Qin Lang returns to 1988. Seeing his beautiful wife and adorable daughter struggling in poverty, Qin Lang, who lost his way chasing money in his previous life, decides to climb to the top once more, with family in one hand and career in the other, and shape this wild, fast-growing era! 1.4kReads9.1Score244Shelves
5. 55 重 Reborn 20 Years Ago: From Street Tough to Upstanding Young Man 重生20年从顽主到四有青年 Mr. Red Flag红旗先生Urban1.7M WordsCompleted [Reborn] [No System] [Ensemble cast] [Everyday life] [Business rivalry] [Romance] [Martial world] Does being reborn count as rebirth if you have no memories of your past life? In 2024, business tycoon Chen Yuanping is framed and sent back to the autumn of his nineteenth year. A completely different life begins... At the foot of the imperial city, in Liulichang. A group of young people born in the sixties and seventies leave the crowded courtyard houses in the hutongs, carrying their dreams 4.2kReads7.5Score220Shelves

   Reader note

   In two words, it's beautiful; in three words, it's unconventional.

6. 56 六 The 1960s: After Getting into Technical College, I Secure a Cadre Position 六零：考上中专后，我稳坐干部岗 Don't Know Any Better孬不道Modern Romance999k WordsCompleted [1960s + everyday life + extremely, extremely slow-paced + family squabbles + no rural assignment + vocational school entrance exams + few awful relatives] [This is a female-oriented novel! The heroine is an ordinary person, not a powerhouse heroine. Please don’t read if that bothers you.] Heartbroken and still looking for an internship? To escape reality, senior college student Zhou Yuan casually signed a contract for the full-immersion game Awakening. When she opened her eyes, she had become Z 17.2kReads8.5Score1.3kShelves

   Reader note

   Is this book any good? It's incredibly good! It's not a traditional courtyard house story, there's no stepmother, it's a military marriage with revenge, the female lead is intelligent, works hard to get into a vocational school, and doesn't go to the countryside. The rating is a bit low because there aren't many reviewers. It mainly depicts the warm daily life of the main family. Its strength lies in its excellent period setting; this is the most historically accurate book I've read on Tomato Books. Prices are reasonable, with precise amounts of money and tickets, meticulous details, and not too many awful characters. It feels like you're truly living in that era. The only downside is the slow pace; there isn't much romance yet. You can read it as a period drama combined with a farming/developmental story.

7. 57 重 Back to 1973: I Have a Sign-In System 重回1973，我有签到系统 Old Li the Foodie爱吃的老李Urban896k WordsOngoing A wage slave among wage slaves was summoned to work overtime in the middle of the night. On his way home at dawn, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse sent him back to the fervent era. Armed with an incomplete cultivation sign-in System, let's see how he makes his mark in those turbulent times. 16.5kReads6.8Score1.2kShelves
8. 58 重 Back to the Late 1970s, I Have a Choice System 重回70年代末，我有选择系统 Old Li the Foodie爱吃的老李Urban766k WordsCompleted A modern food-delivery rider was hit by a heavy truck while saving someone and sent back to the 1970s, reborn as an educated youth about to take the college entrance exam. Ding! The choice System has been activated. A choice has been triggered. Choice One: Take the college entrance exam? No way. You can return to the city freely in a year, so stay in the village for another year. Reward: Become the village secretary's live-in son-in-law. Choice Two: The college entrance exam is the only way to c 17.9kReads7.0Score1.1kShelves
9. 59 重 Reborn in 1974: I Take My Space with Me to the Countryside 重生1974年，我带空间去下乡 Old Li the Foodie爱吃的老李Urban642k WordsCompleted Li Feng, a wage slave working a 996 schedule, accidentally activated the pocket dimension in the jade pendant his grandfather left him before he died. As a devoted fan of web novels on Tomato, how could he not know what opportunity was coming his way? “Grandpa! Bless your grandson with a chance to transmigrate to an awesome world. I’ll make sure our Li family has plenty of descendants.” The newly unemployed wage slave gathered what little money he had and stockpiled some supplies. Now he waits f 16.9kReads7.8Score704Shelves
10. 60 年 Period: Three Years of Hardship, I Made My Fortune Hunting! 年代：三年困难，我靠打猎发家！ North of the Mountain, South of the River山之北水之南Urban493k WordsCompleted He transmigrates, and finds himself with a crippled older brother and a younger sister who has dropped out of school. They face the earth and turn their backs to the sky, toiling in the fields. It’s 1958. People may not have much to eat, but their spirits are rich. Everyone has faith and hope for the future. As long as they work hard, they can create a better tomorrow! … A country kid transmigrates. He makes a living off the land, then eventually moves to the city. He has a space that can grow. 2.6kReads7.0Score110Shelves

    Reader note

    Chronology. .

11. 61 沂 A Family by the Yishui River 沂水河畔一家人 Li Xinxin李馨欣Modern Romance540k WordsCompleted This book tells the story of a large family over nearly a century, from the late Qing dynasty to the end of the twentieth century, through turbulent changes, banditry and warfare, twists and turns, and eventual reversals of fortune. Led and subtly influenced by the protagonist, several generations endure decades of hardship yet remain upright, united, and determined to improve. In different eras and historical circumstances, they do everything they can, persevering in their efforts to contribute 6.1kReads8.8Score564Shelves

    Reader note

    Encouraging the past era

12. 62 重 Reborn in a Northeastern Mountain Village: Fishing and Hunting Across Two Rivers and Two Nations 重生东北小山村渔猎两江两国 Student Tianya小学生天涯Urban4.0M WordsOngoing Please give this five stars. Please give this five stars. I don't have much education or skill, and I can't write fancy prose. I use ordinary people's language to tell an ordinary story. If you like it, I thank you for your support with a clasped-fist salute. If you don't, please be kind and don't flame me. An artist can't make a living without noble-minded patrons. I offer my thanks to all of you, my dear supporters. 41.6kReads8.2Score2.9kShelves

    Reader note

    Reborn in a small mountain village in Northeast China, he becomes wealthy through hunting, fishing, and farming. He and his brothers experience various thrilling and life-or-death adventures, leading to many exciting and hilarious stories.

13. 63 逼 You're Forcing Me to the Countryside? I'll Empty the House and Head Off to the Farms in Style 逼我下乡？我搬空家底潇洒插队 Author Kung Pao Chicken作者宫保鸡丁Rural Life378k WordsOngoing Reborn in 1975, Lin Jianguo looks at his biased parents and the younger brother about to take over his job, then gives a cold laugh. If you won't treat me right, don't blame me for returning the favor! He activates his pocket System and acquires Grandmaster-level Baji Fist, expert hunting skills, and expert marksmanship. He clears out every valuable belonging in his biased parents' house, then casually signs up his stepmother's son to go to the Great Northwest. With his bags on his back, he head 10.7kReads7.5Score809Shelves

    Reader note

    Looking forward to your visit and guidance [Admiration]

14. 64 四 Siheyuan: How Dare You Steal My Inheritance? 四合院：我的遗产你们也敢吞？ Author Kung Pao Chicken作者宫保鸡丁Male-Channel Fanfiction383k WordsOngoing When a doctoral graduate’s soul landed in 1961, he became a young man in rural Changping who shared his name. His parents were dead, and his uncle’s inheritance had been completely divided among the “old neighbors” in Courtyard 95 on Nanluoguxiang: three rooms, eight thousand yuan in savings, and a secure job at the steel mill, all seized. With no way to seek justice, he had only a will and the future technology and master-level martial arts bestowed upon him by his transmigration. From appealin 6.6kReads6.6Score201Shelves
15. 65 四 Siheyuan: Silly Zhu's Revenge 四合院之傻柱复仇记 Eggplant Casserole风味茄子煲Male-Channel Fanfiction461k WordsOngoing A burned-out office worker who dropped dead in 2026 becomes Silly Zhu, who froze to death on the streets in 1951. Bound to a System, he learns cooking, traditional Chinese medicine, and Bajiquan. As he raises his little sister, he makes every beast who schemes against him pay the price. 27.6kReads8.2Score1.5kShelves
16. 66 四 Siheyuan: I Wield My Brush and Stir Up the Storm 四合院：执笔搅风云 Picking Up Words Among the Pines松间拾字Male-Channel Fanfiction964k WordsOngoing Reborn in 1952, Wang Ping'an transmigrates to Courtyard No. 95 on Nanluoguxiang. Alone in the world, he seems like a timid, easily bullied orphan to his neighbors. He makes a living writing articles and stories, often drawing on the people and events in the courtyard for inspiration. Anyone who deliberately gives him a hard time or schemes against him ends up as a villain in one of his stories, and the rumors soon spread throughout the entire compound. Everyone assumes he is a helpless writer, 8.2kReads5.4Score258Shelves

    Reader note

    I recommend a version of the courtyard house novel. Read 10 chapters and tell me if it's the answer. [Cool][Cool][Cool]

17. 67 走 Through the Trials 走过劫难 Li Xinxin李馨欣Modern Romance275k WordsCompleted Disaster strikes a once-happy family of five. After suffering a heartbreak so piercing it feels like ten thousand arrows, how will a mother who has only just reached middle age, and is already frail and sickly, lead her three underage children through hardship and toward the future...? 140Reads—Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    Different Eras of Literature

18. 68 四 Siheyuan: I Have a Door Between Two Worlds 四合院：我有一扇两界门 Shang Luoshan尚洛杉Male-Channel Fanfiction267k WordsOngoing [This work is entirely handwritten, with no AI. Please enjoy it with confidence.] One day, a livestream room called [Welcome to the Siheyuan World] suddenly appeared on a certain short-video platform. It featured young versions of Silly Zhu, Xu Damao, Yi Zhonghai, and Qin Huairu, along with an extra named Wang Tieshi. This extra had a truly endless supply of relatives and friends. Every few days, another one would show up, played by a famous star everyone knew. Only when the official Ninth Burea 40.9kReads7.7Score4.1kShelves

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    Late 1950s

19. 69 四 Siheyuan: After Being Reborn, I Can Open a Blind Box Every Day 四合院：重生后我能天天开盲盒 Shang Luoshan尚洛杉Male-Channel Fanfiction603k WordsCompleted Protagonist: Zhao Lei; Role: An unemployed street loafer, a marginal member of the Zhao family, unloved by both parents Golden finger: Blind Box System Goal: Lie flat every day, with food and drink aplenty and no need to work Synopsis: Zhao Lei grew up as a left-behind child in his previous life. By an unexpected twist of fate, he is reborn in 1959 while staying at a hotel. It is the first year of the natural disasters, and as a modern young man used to having plenty to eat and drink, he absolut 37.2kReads6.4Score1.8kShelves
20. 70 回 Memories of 1931: Hunting, Fighting the Japanese, and Raising a Family 回忆一九三一养家打猎打鬼子日子 Broken Little Toe骨折得小脚趾Urban2.9M WordsOngoing In 1931, the Japanese invaded China. Ling Feng hunted to feed his family and fought the Japanese to capture supplies. He and his good brothers enjoyed the good life, built houses, and got married. 17.6kReads8.5Score1.2kShelves

    Reader note

    Not a courtyard house, but a building from a bygone era.

21. 71 我 My Second Brother: Two Young Men Venture into the Northeast 我的二哥之二小闯东北 Drunken Dream Kite醉梦鸢Urban155k WordsCompleted My second older brother ran away from home when he was twelve, heading northeast with a child from the neighbors’ family. The two of them endured countless hardships to make it there, only to find themselves in the wolf’s den and the tiger’s lair. And so began a story no one could ever forget. 12Reads—Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    The Era of Literature Comes

22. 72 小 The Lane House 2: A Difficult Road 小巷人家2艰难之路 Drunken Dream Kite醉梦鸢Male-Channel Fanfiction462k WordsCompleted Zhuang Tunan injured his leg working overtime during the New Year holiday, then accompanied his parents back to the old alley. Li Jia wanted to stay by his side, but her family was always against it. Lin Dongzhe finally made something of himself and became a boss, while Zhuang Xiaoting returned to the alley pregnant. To prove himself, Zhuang Tunan started selling books and newspapers at the entrance to the alley, and tutored the neighborhood children on the side. Life was comfortable enough, but 14.6kReads6.7Score334Shelves
23. 73 老 Uncle's Prequel 老舅前传 Drunken Dream Kite醉梦鸢Male-Channel Fanfiction126k WordsCompleted Cui Guoming had just graduated from college. His father told him to find a job, but he spent his time aimlessly messing around. One time, he went drinking with Guo Dapao and was beaten half to death by a gang of punks. Luckily, the Three Heroes of Lucheng found him and rescued him. To repay them, Cui Guomin introduced his older sister, Cui Dahong, to Huo Dongfeng, the leader of the trio. But Dahong was unwilling. Later, when a punk named Ermei gave her a hard time, Huo Dongfeng came to her rescu 4Reads—Score—Shelves
24. 74 妈 Mom, I Want a Dad 妈妈，我想有一个爸爸 Drunken Dream Kite醉梦鸢Modern Romance150k WordsCompleted Shen Caiyue's son, Zhu Di, wants a father, stirring something in her heart. Then her boss proposes to her, though she has no idea it's because her best friend stabbed her in the back. After his proposal is rejected, her boss offers to kindly take her home, but on the way, he harbors sinister intentions! 3Reads—Score—Shelves
25. 75 紫 The Violet Murder Shroud 紫色凶罩 Drunken Dream Kite醉梦鸢Mystery140k WordsCompleted A woman is found in a cornfield, impaled through the body by a steel bar. Was it revenge, a crime of passion, or torture? Read closely and examine every detail to find the answer. Otherwise, you won’t know the truth until the very end! 220Reads—Score—Shelves
26. 76 清 The Breeze Won't Cross, and the Wheat Grows 清风不渡，麦禾生 Meow, Meow猫啊咪啊Modern Romance158k WordsOngoing When Shen Maihe was fifteen, she received an acceptance letter from a prestigious high school. She thought it was happy news, but her poor family couldn't afford the steep tuition. While she was trying to raise money, her younger brother was injured. She decisively married, exchanging her bride price for his medical expenses. Everyone said she was lucky to have married well. But who knew it was a black hole, with a cruel, vicious mother-in-law, a shrewd, hypocritical father-in-law, and a timid, 259Reads—Score139Shelves

    Reader note

    Most of them are from the 1980s and 1990s.

27. 77 熬 She Outlived the Other Woman, Then Was Reborn 熬死小三，她又重生啦 Meow, Meow猫啊咪啊Modern Romance605k WordsOngoing [Not a palace-intrigue novel, not a farming novel: the heroine's growth and the redemption of a life.] Bai Chunyu had a miserable life in her previous life. When she opened her eyes again, she had returned to the 1970s, before any of those tragedies had happened! She decisively cut ties with her family, severing them once and for all. She would protect her genius little daughter with her life. Her family's ancestral silver bangle concealed a pocket dimension, stocked to the brim with supplies. S 251Reads7.6Score—Shelves
28. 78 金 The Award-Winning Nanny Reborn with a Professor's Book Collection! 金牌保姆带教授藏书重生啦！ Meow, Meow猫啊咪啊Modern Romance1.5M WordsCompleted [Reborn + family bonds + everyone’s favorite + healing + mystery] The main story is complete, with some bonus chapters in the works. Feel free to dive in. Lin Chuyi was a top-tier caregiver who spent more than a decade looking after an elderly professor and his wife. They treated her like their own daughter. Before they died, they left her an inheritance and a jade pendant, which sent her back to the age of eighteen. The pendant is a key, and the library is a space connecting her past and future 486Reads9.2Score100Shelves
29. 79 重 Back to the 1990s: I'm Done Being a Good Girl 重回九零，不做乖乖女 Meow, Meow猫啊咪啊Modern Romance583k WordsCompleted [Lighthearted Comedy + Inspirational Youth + Reborn and Doted on by Everyone + Healing] Completed. He Laifa still hasn’t woken up. No one knows if she ever will, but her passion, her hard work, her determination, and her kindness and intelligence have all affected the people around her. The people of Yangjiatun will never forget her. The people of Hejiabao will never forget her. He, and all the others, keep striving in their own posts, shining brightly. She is strength. She is hope. She is their 214Reads8.9Score—Shelves
30. 80 四 Siheyuan Era: I Change My Fate and Get Rich with Three Divinations a Day 四合院年代：我每日三卦改命暴富 Chen Da陳耷Male-Channel Fanfiction270k WordsOngoing [Fortune-Telling + Courtyard Drama + Rural Farming + Finding Hidden Treasures + Rags-to-Riches Comeback] P.S. The courtyard-drama content is limited, and only some of its characters are borrowed. You can enjoy this story even if you've never read a courtyard drama. [Today's fortune: Excellent] [First reading: A century-old ginseng plant grows beneath the cliff on the main peak of Little Yang Mountain. Watch out for venomous snakes when you pick it.] [Second reading: There is a clay pot containin 42Reads5.2Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    This novel about the courtyard houses of that era is really well written.

31. 81 出 A Way Forward Through Mountains and Rivers 出路之山重水复 I Am But Floating Dust我本浮尘Urban1.1M WordsCompleted [Period setting + Family + Women + Career + Workplace business battles + No romance + Society + An exploration of human nature] No cheat powers, no dramatic comeback. A deep look at the struggles and prospects of 99% of ordinary people! Wish-fulfillment stories are everywhere, but once the excitement fades, only emptiness remains. In the end, we all have to face the grind of daily life and the warmth or coldness of human relationships. This slow-burning work of realism offers no lucky breaks or 2.5kReads9.5Score354Shelves

    Reader note

    This book, which tells the story of two generations, is worth savoring and reading carefully.

32. 82 浮 Life Is Like a Dream: I Take the Blame and Transmigrate to the 1950s 浮生若梦，我顶缸穿五零 I Promise You the Best Years我许年华Modern Romance309k WordsCompleted (Fictional setting! Fictional setting! Please don't compare this to reality!) History's number one scapegoat, Xu Duoduo, has grievances she can't voice. When disaster comes from heaven, it can still be avoided. When you bring disaster upon yourself, there's no escaping it. So what if life is hard? If you can stomach eating bitter greens, you can do anything. I'll give it my all! Come watch a post-2000s girl living the '50s version of a wild-vegetable-foraging life. Let's go! 1.7kReads9.2Score125Shelves

    Reader note

    [Admiring][OK][I also highly recommend][Laugh]

33. 83 重 Reborn in 1960: I Have a Divine Cauldron Space 重生60，我有神鼎空间 Fourth Master Nan Gai南丐四爷Urban2.8M WordsCompleted Zhao Guoqiang died alongside the demolition crew, never imagining that the incense burner in his own main room was a divine artifact. After accidentally becoming the master of the Bronze Divine Cauldron, he was reborn as another man named Zhao Guoqiang. Inside the cauldron's space were towering mountains, lakes, and mighty rivers. What delighted him even more was that the cauldron could condense holy water. Time already flowed ten times faster inside the space than in the outside world. With the 404Reads7.4Score103Shelves

    Reader note

    He fished, hunted, and farmed during six years of famine, leading his fellow villagers to fish in the river. They kneaded dough to grow rice, cultivated vegetables along the riverbank, and raised rabbits in the valley.

34. 84 日 Paying One Billion in Taxes a Day, and You Call This a Village Collective Enterprise? 日交税十亿，你说这是村集体企业 Fourth Master Nan Gai南丐四爷Urban523k WordsCompleted Zeng Fanchao, the richest man in Beihu Province, catches the eye of people who want to seize his family fortune for free. When he refuses, Liu Batian, a prison warden who holds the low ninth rank, sends men to sever his tendons, force-feed him a drug that robs him of his voice, and throw him from a cliff over a hundred meters high. He crashes down onto the land temple beneath the cliff, smashing it to pieces. His own body is shattered, too, but the blood flowing from him is mysteriously absorbed 639Reads6.4Score—Shelves
35. 85 四 Siheyuan: From the Start, I Control the Life and Death System 四合院：开局掌控生死系统 Fourth Master Nan Gai南丐四爷Urban1.8M WordsCompleted From the start, he gets a Life and Death System and hypnosis abilities, sending him straight to the top. The Life and Death System can extract life force from anything alive, including animals, plants, fish, and humans. It can also pour life force into any living thing, though the effect is halved. Extracting life force from a century-old tree yields fifty years' worth, which can be poured into a sapling to instantly make it grow to the size of a fifty-year-old tree. Animals work the same way: e 15.3kReads8.1Score860Shelves
36. 86 重 Reborn in 1960: The System Helps Me Rule the Hunting Grounds 重生60：系统助我猎界称雄 Fourth Master Nan Gai南丐四爷Urban345k WordsCompleted Li Changsheng became a thirty-year mortgage slave after buying a home with no down payment. With housing prices falling and his job gone, he was on his way home when he kindly helped an elderly person who had fallen, only to be extorted by them. So he simply dragged them along to die with him, ridding the world of two bad people. Unexpectedly, he then received a Cloning System and transmigrated, reborn into the body of another Li Changsheng in 1960. See how Li Changsheng uses the Cloning System 991Reads6.1Score—Shelves
37. 87 我 In 1979, I Helped the Whole Village Become Ten-Thousand-Yuan Households 我在七九帮全村成就万元户 Fourth Master Nan Gai南丐四爷Urban267k WordsCompleted Chen Sheng and seven good friends explore the Nanshan Cave and obtain the innate spiritual treasure, the Boundary-Breaking Pearl, which lets them travel back and forth to an era thirty years in the future. From then on, they begin a career smuggling goods between the two worlds. Back home, they open brickworks, a sand quarry, clothing factories, and furniture factories. They buy up centipedes and leeches, and become the first in the world to cultivate bamboo fungus commercially. Once every house 617Reads8.0Score—Shelves
38. 88 我 I Fish with Dragon Blood, and Every Fish and Shrimp in the Sea Goes Wild 我用龙血钓鱼，海中鱼虾都疯了 Fourth Master Nan Gai南丐四爷Urban1.3M WordsCompleted Fishing with dragon blood sends every fish and shrimp in the sea into a frenzy. Tempering my body with dragon blood and making a name for myself with dragon fists. I use dragon dung and urine in my space to grow ginseng and tea plants. Every year, I drip another drop of dragon blood beneath the tea plants. Regularly drinking the tea they produce delays aging, strengthens the body, promotes longevity, fortifies the bones and sinews, beautifies the skin, turns white hair black, and even boosts vir 728Reads8.6Score179Shelves
39. 89 何 How to Chase Away Worries? Fish Until Your Cooler Overflows 何以解忧钓鱼爆护 Fourth Master Nan Gai南丐四爷Urban744k WordsCompleted Zhang San used to be a street vendor selling leather shoes. When the city launched a campaign to become civilized, street vending was banned. Just as he found himself out of work, his girlfriend betrayed him and ran off with the savings he had built up over six years of selling at his stall. Drunk, Zhang San went fishing by the river and unexpectedly hooked a Shanhe Ring. The ring had been forged by the Primordial Immortal Venerable from fragments of worlds and various heavenly treasures. It con 1.4kReads8.7Score103Shelves
40. 90 钓 A Fisherman Across Time and Space: A Blood-Soaked Fight Against Japan 钓者跨时空：浴血抗日行 Fourth Master Nan Gai南丐四爷Urban130k WordsCompleted In a parallel world, in Heishui Town, Hanjing City, a false nation on the Dark Star, Zhou Jianhua accidentally discovers a time machine created by the previous civilization in its final days in an attempt to save the world. The time machine can take him to worlds from the past, but it cannot reach the future. Inside the machine, Zhou Jianhua obtains the Repentance Fishing Boat, which can be upgraded. The Confession Time Machine itself can also be upgraded, and he can travel through time three ti 45Reads—Score—Shelves
41. 91 莸 I Gain the Water God's Inheritance, and Fishing Is No Longer Hard 莸得水神传承，钓鱼不再难 Fourth Master Nan Gai南丐四爷Urban300k WordsCompleted Nan Canghai had his achievements stolen and was fired from his job, so he went out for a walk to clear his head. Caught in a sudden downpour, he happened upon an old, dilapidated Water God Temple by the river. Curious, Nan Canghai ducked inside to take shelter and look around. By a stroke of fate, he merged with the remnant soul of an ancient Water God. Not only did he inherit the Water God's legacy, he also obtained a treasure that controlled water: the Black Tortoise Banner, one of the Four Di 746Reads8.6Score—Shelves
42. 92 重 Reborn as a Cow: Ruling the Dark Planet 重生成牛：称霸黑暗星球 Fourth Master Nan Gai南丐四爷Urban113k WordsCompleted Ye Daniu transmigrated and was reborn in the body of an African buffalo that had just been killed by a lion. Using human intelligence, he killed the lion and became the King of the Buffaloes. From then on, the African buffaloes began practicing martial arts and forming battle formations, wiping out prides of lions and packs of wolves. They exterminated the hyenas, unified the grasslands, and became its overlords. When the apocalypse arrived, the King of the Buffaloes led herds of buffaloes, zebr 142Reads—Score—Shelves
43. 93 7 1979: A Happy Life Begins at a State-Owned Factory 79，进国营厂开始的幸福生活 Sugar Tangerine沙糖橘子Modern Romance234k WordsCompleted [Period romance + personal growth + family life + mutual secret crushes + true and fake heiresses + romantic tension + taking down scumbags] The protagonist joins a wilderness survival livestream, loses her footing, and falls to her death. She transmigrates into Xiao Caixia, a pitiful girl abused by her entire family. She turns the tables on her tormentors and lands a job at a major company. Bai Jianjun, a decorated military officer with a limp, gradually falls for her. Using modern rehabilitati 539Reads6.8Score100Shelves

    Reader note

    I strongly oppose courtyard houses. This period novel is very realistic, neither melodramatic nor mindless. It's a very engaging read, showing the protagonist's gradual growth. It's very nuanced.

44. 94 重 Reborn in 1980: From Courtyard Menace to Peerless National Scholar 重生80，从大院祸害到国士无双 The Song Is Not Yet Finished一曲未完Urban1.0M WordsOngoing The winds of change are sweeping through 1980! Ye Xiaotian, chief engineer at a high-tech company, is unexpectedly reborn. His memories of future technology become a blade with which to turn the tide of the era. With a deluge of patents in his left hand, he drives his rivals straight into bankruptcy. With black-tech blueprints in his right, he forces foreign companies to grovel. Just as foreign firms are preparing to sweep across China with their wired remote controls, he sneers: “Infrared wirel 4.7kReads6.3Score291Shelves

    Reader note

    A must-read for anyone experiencing a reading slump: "Tremble, 1980!" A story of a reborn 1980s genius researcher and a high-powered villain! A max-level master returns in force, rising from a scourge of the compound to an unparalleled national hero! A crushing defeat, constant face-slapping—it's so satisfying you won't want to stop! [Sending hearts][Sending hearts][Laughing][Laughing][Sending hearts][Sending hearts]

45. 95 四 Siheyuan: Jia Zhangshi With a One-Hit-Kill System 四合院之带着秒杀系统的贾张氏 Different Kinds of Daydreams不同脑洞Female-Channel Fanfiction643k WordsOngoing {Era setting + slice of life + ensemble cast + everyday family matters} A modern office worker transmigrates into the TV drama Love in the Courtyard and suddenly finds herself more than ten years older. She never had a moment to rest amid the hectic pace of modern life, but after transmigrating to this extraordinary era with a one-hit-kill space, she becomes Jia Zhangshi. She declares that she has no intention of working hard for the rest of her life. To enjoy a comfortable retirement and change 21.2kReads8.1Score1.7kShelves

    Reader note

    Although it's dressed up as a traditional courtyard house, it has a strong sense of life from that era.

46. 96 稻 When the Rice Flowers Bloom 稻香花开 Liu Ningduochang刘宁多昌Modern Romance368k WordsCompleted The novel follows the hardships endured by farmers in two villages in Xiangnan County, Dongyuantun and Da’ai Village, from the Republican era through the founding of the People’s Republic of China and on through the people’s commune system, the Cultural Revolution, the household responsibility system, and the Reform and Opening-Up period. The villagers endure one hardship after another and witness the changing times. The protagonists, Zhang Yiping and Zhou Xueyun, are forced to leave school beca 229Reads8.1Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    This period novel is a worthwhile read; the story is realistic and touching, the characters are described in detail, and it is close to real life.

47. 97 独 Home on a Unicycle 独轮车上的家 Crimson Snow's Song绛雪吟Modern Romance116k WordsCompleted The novel follows Liu Shouren and his family from the late 1970s to the present day. As society changes and the countryside is transformed, they weather a tumultuous journey. Through stories from in and around the village, it portrays the lives, resilience, struggles, and growth of countless ordinary rural families across China... 1Reads—Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    Both of these books are excellent, very good! [Thumbs up]

48. 98 青 Tales of Qingshiyu 青石峪往事 Crimson Snow's Song绛雪吟Urban204k WordsCompleted The story follows nearly half a century of change in Qingshiyu, a village in the Yimeng Mountains. As the mountain countryside is transformed, it portrays the full journey of rural China from the final years of collectivization to the new era of rural revitalization. It tells the stories of life in and beyond the village, exploring tradition and modernity, staying and leaving, survival and growth, and the profound tension between individual destinies and the tides of the times... 10Reads—Score—Shelves
49. 99 重 Reborn: From the Start, I Can Hear the Young Intellectual’s Inner Thoughts 重生，开局就偷听女知青心声 Chief Steward of the Yang Household杨府大管家Urban388k WordsOngoing [The rating just came out and will keep rising!] [Period rebirth, farming, pure romance, slow-paced and not violent] If you like this kind of story, come take a look! If you don't, head on over to Tomato Book City, where plenty of great books are waiting for you! Su Yun is reborn in 1974 as an educated youth sent to the countryside. From the start, the educated youths' dormitory collapses, so he has no choice but to board with a local family. By chance, he ends up under the same roof as Lin Qing 1.6kReads6.2Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    I recommend a book: male-oriented, historical fiction, rebirth, educated youth sent to the countryside, multiple female leads, slow pace, farming and hunting. If you like this kind of story, please read it.

50. 100 三 The Three Treasures Pagoda and Purple Gold Mountain 三宝塔与紫金山 Muzi Surong木子苏蓉Modern Romance114k WordsCompleted The story unfolds slowly between Sanbao Town in southeastern Yunnan and Nanjing, the ancient capital of six dynasties. Yun Kun, a young man from southern Yunnan, dreams of escaping the mountains. Through sheer perseverance, he rises from a poor boy to a faculty researcher at a military academy. Ning Xiang, who lives east of Nanjing, once enjoyed a peaceful, ordinary life, but the tides of the times bring a drastic turn: her household registration is falsified, and she is forced to move to the co 7Reads—Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    It's a period novel that won't give you a headache and is easy to read.

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