Rural Novels Set in the 1960s and 1970s 六七十年代的乡村小说

1. 201 公 Upholding Justice 公义立身 Bright Sunny Day灿烂晴天Urban102k WordsCompleted Xu Zhiqiang was born into a poor rural family in the 1960s. Through sheer hard work, he got into university. After graduating, he was assigned to work at a steel mill, where he brought a near-bankrupt factory back from the brink. Later, an anonymous letter changed the course of his life once again. After enduring setbacks in life as well as pressure and blows at work, Xu Zhiqiang entered the real estate business and rose to the pinnacle of success. 15Reads—Score—14d adds

   Reader note

   The male protagonist was born into a poor family. Through hard work, he was admitted to university and was assigned to a steel factory after graduation. Later, he went south to work and became a real estate tycoon.

2. 202 旧 Childhood in the Old Days 旧时光里的童年 The Second Kid in the Old Days旧时光里的小二Urban134k WordsCompleted The author recalls a rural childhood in Wuchang County, Heilongjiang Province, during the 1970s and 1980s. The book describes rural life and the changes brought about by the household responsibility system in the early days of reform and opening up, along with the joys and hardships of the author’s childhood before the age of ten, major family upheavals, and the warmth and coldness of human nature. 39Reads—Score314d adds

   Reader note

   The author recalls his rural childhood in Wuchang County, Heilongjiang Province in the 1970s and 1980s, recounting the joys and sorrows, major family changes, and the warmth and coldness of human relationships during his childhood before the age of 10.

3. 203 热 The Hot-Blooded Hunter: God’s Assault 热血猎人神之袭击 Riding a Bull to Find You骑牛找你Historical1.3M WordsOngoing [Survival] [Hunting] [Fighting the Japanese invaders and looting their gear] [Cultivation] Wang Fei has just entered the world of cultivation when he's forced into becoming a live-in son-in-law. One blow shatters his dantian, setting him on a long road from staying alive to rising to greatness. Though he has lost his cultivation, he takes countless disciples. This novel was not written by AI. Every word was painstakingly typed out by the author, who only hopes readers will enjoy the story in its 27.5kReads9.0Score2.5k14d adds

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   [OK][Heart][Heart][Heart]

4. 204 黑EN Death God of the Night 黑夜杀神 Riding a Bull to Find You骑牛找你Eastern Fantasy509k WordsCompleted Hunted from the start, I barely escaped with my life. I fought to defy fate, launching attacks and taking down countless powerful opponents. Born with a beautiful face... I hope you enjoy the story. Your support motivates me to write, and I'll do my best to tell every story well! 2.9kReads8.8Score21414d adds
5. 205 情 City of Heartbreak 情伤都市 Riding a Bull to Find You骑牛找你Urban215k WordsCompleted My new work is out! Come read it on Tomato Novel. I hope you'll enjoy it. Your support motivates me to write, and I'll do my best to tell every story well! 1.1kReads—Score—14d adds
6. 206 野 Wild Chrysanthemums, No Tears 野菊花，不流泪 Shui Wenqiu水问秋Modern Romance508k WordsCompleted “The eldest gets doted on, the youngest gets spoiled, but the one in the middle suffers most!” In the late 1970s, under the weight of son preference and the pressure of family planning, Xiaojü was born in the middle. Her tragic life began from the moment she was born: an unwanted child, abandoned by both Heaven and Earth! When Xiaojü was four, the grandmother who had raised her passed away. In her final moments, Grandma told her that she had been born in a season when wild chrysanthemums were i 2.2kReads8.4Score15214d adds

   Reader note

   Rural fiction with realistic themes

7. 207 听 Songs of the Listening Wind Tower 听风楼歌 Splashing Water from the Far Bank隔岸拍水Urban186k WordsOngoing Why does Xiangju run a business that only loses money and never makes a profit? She treats relationships just as carelessly, elbowing her way to the top of the airport’s Twelve Most Beautiful Women. She has Hong Zhi and Brother Gen fighting over her in a jealous brawl, and instead of being ashamed, she’s proud of it. After her eldest daughter gets into a prestigious university, she works hard and becomes independent. She tutors and models cars in her spare time, and accompanies her professor to 790Reads—Score—14d adds

   Reader note

   A heartfelt account of the era, reflecting the simple and honest folk customs of the 1960s and 70s. The most ordinary moments are captured in the everyday life, yet who can truly understand the extraordinary spirit of a man?

8. 208 我 I Am a Scout: Zhan De 我是侦察兵一一湛德 Splashing Water from the Far Bank隔岸拍水10k WordsCompleted I’m a Scout: Zhan De —Reads—Score—14d adds

   Reader note

   Listening to the wind and cooking the rain, emotions fill the building; a first-rate rural novel.

9. 209 光 All Beings Beneath the Light 光遇众生 The Quiet Duke静谧的公爵Anime Fanfiction976k WordsOngoing Adventure + high-IQ showdowns + suspicious, scheming characters + no female lead + ensemble cast + slow pace + revelations about the world’s truth, layer by layer (A Sky: Children of the Light fanfiction) After transmigrating into the world of Sky: Children of the Light, the Duke becomes a Light Child manipulated by the ancestors. “Go make an offering,” they say. “It is your supreme glory.” He believes them and fights his way forward with his companions, only to discover the horrifying truth aft 166Reads—Score—14d adds

   Reader note

   The author, a screenwriter by profession, creates an incredibly immersive reading experience! The writing style is witty and humorous, with beautiful language that enhances one's literary appreciation while reading. It's a niche, slow-paced story, but once you're hooked, you won't want to leave. Perfect for readers who enjoy being struck by melancholic aesthetics.

10. 210 桃 A Garden of Students, Growing Old Together in Love 桃李满天下恩爱共白头 Bright Sunny Day灿烂晴天Modern Romance42k WordsCompleted Wu Xiaomin was a country girl, born and raised in the countryside, but she had always been a good student and was naturally beautiful. Unfortunately, after she started high school, her surroundings changed dramatically, leaving her confused and lost. In her sophomore year, she met a new homeroom teacher who helped her find her way again. After graduating from college, Wu Xiaomin gave up a job placement back in her hometown and introduced a female college classmate to her former high school teach 1.5kReads—Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    The male lead is the female lead's high school mentor. After graduating from university, the female lead introduces her female classmate to her mentor as his girlfriend in order to repay him. The female lead, however, chooses to stay in the city and work instead of being assigned a job to pursue her career.

11. 211 等 The Happiness We Waited For 等来的幸福 Bright Sunny Day灿烂晴天Modern Romance51k WordsCompleted In this blended family, the male and female leads grow up calling each other brother and sister. After her mother dies, the heroine goes abroad with her biological father. While overseas, she and the male lead begin a relationship. 773Reads—Score—14d adds
12. 212 中 Lu Xueqi, Vocational School Student 中专生陆雪琪 Bright Sunny Day灿烂晴天Marriage & Romance81k WordsCompleted Lu Xueqi, the Vocational School Student 1.6kReads—Score1914d adds
13. 213 重 Reborn in the 1960s: I Became Grandma’s Little Sister 重生六零：我成了外婆的妹妹 Jing Jiuzhe荆九折Modern Romance73k WordsOngoing [When an ordinary person is reborn in a rural village in the 1960s, forget about getting ahead or making grand plans. First, stay alive.] [1960s rural life + family and neighborhood affairs + education and growth + ensemble cast] [Not a wish-fulfillment story, not a wish-fulfillment story, not a wish-fulfillment story. Please don't read if that's not your thing. Thank you.] When Zhu Yan wakes up in the body of her grandmother's second-youngest sister, who died young, she vows to change her grand —Reads—Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    A story set in the 1960s, without any cheat codes.

14. 214 最 The Purest Love 最纯洁的爱 Happy Soy Milk快乐的豆浆Urban2.0M WordsCompleted Qin Feng returns to China after completing his studies in Russia, just as the country reforms its education system and universities abolish guaranteed job assignments for graduates. He then moves with his family to a coastal city, where he meets Xie Lan, a local girl from the countryside. Xie Lan is six years younger than Qin Feng and left school after junior high. They come from vastly different backgrounds in age, education, and family circumstances. Both sets of parents oppose their relations 4Reads—Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    Having love is like having a dazzling nebula vortex even in the darkest space, with each vortex containing endless mysteries, leaving only the mystery and romance of embracing each other in the nebula.

15. 215 石 Shi Shun's Growth 石顺的成长 Shi Shunzhi石顺之Modern Romance320k WordsCompleted About Growth At the foot of the Dabie Mountains, a young man named Shi Shun journeys forward, one step at a time. Over the first half of his life, he experiences sincere family affection, treasures friendships forged through hardship, encounters tender love, and strives to build an ordinary career. He grows from a naive, awkward youth into a steady and responsible man, tempering his character amid the everyday bustle of life and coming to understand what life means through the companionship of 4Reads—Score114d adds

    Reader note

    A classic book from a bygone era, truly moving and inspiring.

16. 216 小 Small-Town Romance 小镇风月 Old Wei Loves to Drink老魏爱喝酒Urban315k WordsCompleted This thousand-year-old town prospered and declined with its shipping trade. In the 1990s, dance halls sprang up, bringing with them a case of stolen tax silver, a midnight murder, a police officer killing someone, and the murder of a dance hostess. As people fight over money, power, and love, the story also uncovers the heroic deeds of resistance fighters from the town fifty years earlier. The warmth and coldness of human life are distilled in the town's tales of love and desire... 3Reads—Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    The everyday life of ordinary people in the 1990s [drooling][heart]

17. 217 土 Flowers Born of the Earth 土生花 Ci Er La Chu次尔拉初Modern Romance375k WordsCompleted The land is silent, yet it can hold all the hardships endured by three generations. On the barren yellow earth, three generations of women are pressed into the mud by fate, bound hand and foot by patriarchy, and slowly tortured by life. They have no choices and nowhere to turn. They don’t even dare to cry aloud. All they can do is endure the darkness, bear the despair, and keep going through days that have been ground to dust, sustained by sheer will. Yang Jinlian is deaf and stutters. All her 1Reads—Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    This isn't a wish-fulfillment story; it's a realistic portrayal of ordinary life, word by word. The recommendation contains no wish-fulfillment elements or systems.

18. 218 巴 The Hunting King of Bashan 巴山猎王 The Straw-Cloaked Traveler of Bashan巴山蓑衣客Urban1.5M WordsOngoing A transmigration tale set in a bygone era, brimming with rugged mountain spirit and the warmth of everyday life. Armed with memories from his past life and everything taught by his master, the King of Hunters, he wields a hunting rifle, trains mastiffs, and fights wolves. In the 1980s, he sets up a cooperative, builds roads, and buys vehicles, determined to find a way forward for a poor village deep in the mountains. From venturing alone into deadly wilderness to find a life-saving old ginseng r 115Reads7.2Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    A hunting-themed novel set in the Sichuan-Chongqing region, without a system! It features hunting dogs! A single female lead! Only one month after its release, it's already 800,000 words!?

19. 219 托 Tuoxie De Naoren's 15th Book 托鞋的脑仁第15本书 The Brain of a Shoelace托鞋的脑仁Urban3.3M WordsOngoing 110Reads6.8Score12214d adds

    Reader note

    (* / ∇ \ *)

20. 220 重 Reborn in 1978: The Medical God and His Ex-Wife's Regrets Before the College Entrance Exam 重生1978医神高考前妻悔断肠 SangeneHistorical237k WordsOngoing Jiang Weidong, an internationally renowned medical authority, suddenly falls gravely ill and dies during an interview with the BMJ. When he opens his eyes, he has transmigrated to Jiangzhuang in Huaxia in 1978, becoming the son of a country doctor who shares his name. Bringing with him a lifetime of medical expertise from his previous life, he picks up his pen and conquers the college entrance exams, earning top honors. With his superb medical skills, he overcomes every obstacle and heads to the 18.9kReads6.8Score2.4k14d adds

    Reader note

    It's good, I recommend it to you. I just started watching it.

21. 221 重 Reborn in the 1990s: Dividing the Family and Seizing the Land, I Become the Queen of Farm Machinery 重生九零分家夺地，我成农机女王 Qing Yue Shu清月抒Modern Romance102k WordsOngoing [No Male Lead · No Romance · Female Lead Focused on Her Career · Reborn · Period Setting · Countryside · Farming] Reborn in a rural village in the 1990s, Su Wan immediately secures the rights to her homestead and farmland, inheriting both the house and the land. She goes to school and prepares for exams, runs an agricultural machinery business, collects scrap, and grows crops in greenhouses, devoting all her energy to her education and career. There is no male lead, romance, or flirtation anywhe —Reads—Score—14d adds
22. 222 拾 Gathering Ears of Grain 拾穗儿 Wan Hong万宏Modern Romance1.7M WordsOngoing In an era without electricity, phones, or the internet, youth was made of books, sweat, and burning ideals. Her name is Shisui'er. Born in the desert and orphaned young, she was given nothing but desolation by fate, yet she was determined to make flowers bloom across the mountains. She studied hard, then turned the college entrance exams around, leaving the depths of the Gobi for a university campus. With an unyielding spirit, she grew toward the sun and blossomed against the wind. After gradu 23Reads9.5Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    The author knows so well how to convey positive energy! "The Gleaners" writes the growth of ordinary people into an epic. The courage hidden in the words is like a ray of light, dispelling all my hesitation and anxiety.

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