Looking for Period Novels with an Entirely Native Cast! No Transmigration or Rebirth 求全员土著的年代文！不要穿越重生的

1. 101 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 1Reads—Score—Shelves

   Reader note

   This one must be ah, good-looking.

2. 102 那 That Red Land 那片红色的土地 Xiong Dayu熊大雨Urban1.0M WordsCompleted [Period setting] [Slice of life] [Entrepreneurship] [Family] [Rural life] [No clichés] [Not a power fantasy] [No transmigration] [Slow-paced] [Realistic] [Urban] [Hardships] Trust me, it gets better and better as the story goes on, and it absolutely won't end badly! Writing an original work is no easy task. Every word comes from the heart. Please don't leave a low rating or bad review. A casual three or four stars from you could deal a fatal blow to this niche novel. This novel is neither a cr 6.1kReads8.8Score702Shelves

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   Realistic, historical, and inspirational. After reading the first chapter, read Chapter 43, and Chapter 86.

3. 103 八 The 1980s: My Sister Is a Policewoman Who Puts Every Troublemaker in Their Place 八零之我姐是警花，专治各种不服 Hakka from Yunya云崖客家人Modern Romance623k WordsCompleted [Period crime investigation + family and neighborhood life + a spirited heroine + Beijing hutongs and courtyard homes + a slight golden finger] Lin Tiantian was a gymnast in her previous life. Reborn into the Lin family, she had extraordinary strength. To keep her from causing damage with it, her father taught her the family's martial arts from childhood. Though she was beautiful in this life, she chose to make policing her lifelong career. Everyone in the neighborhood knew that a female officer 1.1kReads6.8Score175Shelves

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   Recommend Recommend Recommend Recommend

4. 104 五 The Fragrance of Herbs Warms the Green Hills in the Fifties 五零之青山药香暖 Hakka from Yunya云崖客家人Modern Romance1.1M WordsCompleted Ji Lan, a captain in the apocalypse, is reborn as Lin Qinghe, the youngest daughter of the Lin family in a small mountain village in the 1950s. Not getting enough to eat? No problem. Her wood-element ability came with her. It may be weak, but it still comes in handy. Not strong enough? That’s not an issue either. She can shatter a millstone with one punch, and carrying water or chopping wood is a piece of cake. Most importantly, she has inherited her family’s medical knowledge, so her dream of b 4.9kReads8.4Score524Shelves
5. 105 蒸 The Sun and Moon in the Steamer 蒸屉里的日月 Deep Plowing in Spring春日深耕Modern Romance324k WordsCompleted Set against the changes sweeping the northern countryside in the 1990s, this story follows an ordinary rural woman as she spends half her life juggling household chores, conflicts with her sisters-in-law, small business ventures, and her children’s education. With only an elementary-school education, she supports her family with her skill at making steamed buns, putting her son through college and helping him build a life of his own. She lives through the transition from earthen houses to brick 296Reads—Score—Shelves

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   No blood, no time travel, no rebirth, simple and sincere, pure historical writing ~ [As the years pass, time changes, what changes is the passing years, what remains unchanged is the fireworks in the world, this life of a person is actually the same as steamed buns. When the heat is up, they will be cooked naturally. When the heat is not enough, they will still be raw when the lid is lifted.]

6. 106 童 Childhood Symphony 童年交响曲 Fragrant Wheat Field麦田清香Modern Romance199k WordsCompleted Five-year-old Wang Xiaozhu’s happy life in the countryside! She helps her mother wash clothes by the river and finds a duck egg in the water. She helps her mother sew a quilt on the rooftop, only to be pranked by the girl next door. Her grandmother raises a flock of chickens, but no one knows where they’re laying their eggs... 16Reads—Score—Shelves

   Reader note

   Each character is vivid and has a different personality, but the story is joyful and interesting!

7. 107 铁 Rust and Blossoms 铁锈与繁花 Tian Yuefang of Deer West Island鹿西岛的田月芳Modern Romance136k WordsCompleted 1990s + inspirational realism + female awakening + a determined comeback + making a life far from home + workplace transformation + family ties + sincere romance + friendly neighbors At seventeen, she never imagined that the peachwood talisman her mother pressed into her palm would accompany her through so many storms: from the crowded sleeper cars of a green train to the fluorescent-lit workshop of an electronics factory; from an old night-school building overgrown with ivy to the desk in her o 549Reads—Score—Shelves

   Reader note

   Without a golden finger or relying on a man, she can turn bad cards into a king by herself.

8. 108 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Urban2.8M 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. 15.1kReads8.5Score1kShelves

   Reader note

   Not a time of rebirth

9. 109 六 A Scheming Couple's Daily Bickering in the Sixties 六零腹黑夫妻互怼日常 Xuanhan Bao'er萱涵宝儿Modern Romance502k WordsCompleted [1960s Era + Light Ensemble Cast + Crime Solving + Whirlwind Marriage + Guiding Romance] In the 1960s, unsolved cases shrouded the land in mystery. He Xinghua, a policewoman from the countryside, and Lu Yanping, a criminal investigation chief, were not only husband and wife, but also partners in the line of duty. From a rural courtyard to city housing for government cadres, and from sorting through case files to confronting the most baffling criminal minds, they embarked together on a new caree 1.3kReads8.0Score132Shelves

   Reader note

   Sixties

10. 110 风 Wild Chrysanthemums in the Storm 风雨中的野菊花 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 1.7kReads8.4Score150Shelves
11. 111 三 San Biaozi 三彪子 Little Pear Blossom O小梨花OModern Romance729k WordsCompleted In 1980, in Kaoshan Village on the banks of the Songhua River, the Gao family’s fifth child is born. Dubbed “San Biaozi” because he is a bit dim, he grows up amid poverty and gossip. His mother bears the painful memory of having been assaulted, while his father quietly shoulders the burden of their broken family. San Biaozi drifts through life in a daze, but after a string of fires, people begin to suspect him of arson. While working the night shift guarding the grain depot, he learns to smoke. 565Reads—Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    They are all indigenous people, pure historical writing

12. 112 五 The Woman with Five Marriages 五婚女人 Little Pear Blossom O小梨花OModern Romance394k WordsCompleted Among contemporary Chinese literature's portrayals of rural women's lives, Zheng Guozhen's story grips readers with its astonishing realism and tragic depth. Through an ordinary rural woman's five failed marriages, this novel sketches the hardships of rural women's lives and inner worlds during China's social transformation in the 1990s. From an arranged marriage imposed by her parents to a self-serving union built on dependence on power, from an emotional wasteland scarred by violence to a brie 2kReads7.9Score240Shelves
13. 113 苦 The Long-Suffering Younger Sister 苦妹 Little Pear Blossom O小梨花OModern Romance588k WordsCompleted This is a bloodcurdling, suffocating epic of female suffering. It tells the tragic story of a woman called Ku Mei, whose life was mercilessly crushed by fate over more than half a century, from the early 1960s to the beginning of the twenty-first century. In 1960, during a famine-stricken winter, she was born the second daughter in her family and named Pan Di, “Hoping for a younger brother.” From then on, her grandmother saw her as a “jinx” and branded her Ku Mei, “Bitter Girl.” In a family that 2.7kReads8.8Score416Shelves
14. 114 农 Rural Sisters-in-Law 农村妯娌 Little Pear Blossom O小梨花OModern Romance739k WordsCompleted This is a story of war and peace between two women, and also a miniature epic chronicling the transformation of rural China from collectivization to the modern era. When the well in Liuxi Village was filled in and running water reached every home, the women who had once argued, wept, and whispered secrets beside that well proved through their lives that time can bury old grudges, and that a resilient spirit can blossom in the soil. 1.4kReads7.1Score184Shelves
15. 115 新 The Newlywed Young Widow 新婚小寡妇 Little Pear Blossom O小梨花OModern Romance636k WordsCompleted In the winter of 1976, Li Yanmei was newly married when her husband died. Branded a “husband-killing” jinx, she was pregnant when her cruel in-laws threw her out with nothing. On a stormy night, she gave birth in a melon shed. Starving and freezing, she swallowed the slur “loose woman” along with her tears. For the little one in her arms, she wiped away her tears and turned humiliation into a stepping stone. She went from selling goods at a black-market stall to reclaiming land for farming, from 1.4kReads6.5Score—Shelves
16. 116 九 The 1990s: The Gruff Factory Director Begs for Love with Red Eyes 九零年代，糙汉厂长红眼求爱 Gu Yin En顾寅恩Modern Romance1.0M WordsCompleted [Cool and aloof top female student × clingy, rugged veteran officer] Lin Lu: a promising student at a prestigious university in the capital. Song Chen: a promising officer with a bright future in the military. After he saves her life, the two are forced into marriage and have a child. Lin Lu assumes Song Chen is just as unwilling as she is, so once the baby is born, she leaves without a second thought. After being harmed and confined to her bed for seven years, Lin Lu wakes up and finally realiz 9.3kReads8.8Score580Shelves

    Reader note

    I was watching this recently and instantly fell in love with it

17. 117 高 My Cold Husband Became a Rogue After Regaining His Memories 高冷夫君恢复记忆后竟变成流氓 Light Wind, Ink White轻风墨白Ancient Romance362k WordsCompleted Lighthearted + ridiculous + silly, super-sweet romance + a little farming Among the fourteen households, there was one unmarried older woman, notorious for her awful reputation and disliked by everyone, even the dogs. The childhood sweetheart who had grown up in the same village became the top scholar. Girls around her age already had children old enough to run errands. She waited until she was practically wasting away, growing thinner as her tea went cold. At last, one day, she bought a fair-s 1.4kReads8.9Score160Shelves

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    Relaxing + silly + brainless sweet story + half-farming. There is an old girl in the 14th household who cannot get married. She has a very bad reputation and is disliked by people. Zhu Ma, who grew up in the same village, became the number one scholar, and other girls and children of similar age could beat her. I look forward to it, waiting for someone to lose weight and the tea will cool down. Finally one day, I bought a fair and tender young man with a copper plate. Shen Fuzhi gave him two choices. Once he became the son-in-law of the Shen family. The second is the adopted son of the Shen family. The boy didn't choose any of them. She threw the tattered door open and ran away without looking back! Shen Fuzhi had good cooking skills, and the boy smelled the smell and came here to eat every day. Shen Fuzhi chuckled. You can eat, but please show your sincerity. Later he finally married her. After marriage. She makes trouble and he laughs. Daily chaos.

18. 118 时 A Painkiller for Time and Space 时空止疼片 Han Zifeng, Who Loves Vegetable Yogurt爱吃蔬菜酸奶的寒子峰Modern Romance188k WordsCompleted [Realistic] [You Were Once Here] [Beautiful] At 37, he should have been at the height of his fame, with a bright future ahead. But an unexpected fall from a building brought his life to a permanent stop at its most dazzling moment. I was just an ordinary fan who quietly admired him. One day, I happened to come across news about him, and an immense grief hit me so hard I could barely breathe. In my memory, he was always so radiant: earnest and focused at work, gentle and bright in life, with a s 5Reads—Score—Shelves
19. 119 熬 Outliving My Wicked Mother-in-Law and Stepmother, I Survive a Century of Chaos 熬死恶婆后娘，乱世活百年 Han Zifeng, Who Loves Vegetable Yogurt爱吃蔬菜酸奶的寒子峰Modern Romance478k WordsCompleted [No contrived plot] [Not a wish-fulfillment novel] [No cheat abilities] [Traditional] [Realistic] [Period] [Rural life] [Hardship] Thank you all so much for your support and comments. Mom, my story finally got a rating! Though it only just came out!! Chen Xiulan was my maternal grandmother. She passed away at the age of 103. Only now does that promise I’d let lie for so many years pierce my heart: I once promised to write her a thick memoir. As a child, I was always clinging to her, listening t 595Reads6.7Score—Shelves
20. 120 民 Republican Era: My Sister Falls for My Brother-in-Arms, and Her Brother Cries in Desperation 民国：妹妹爱上兄弟，哥哥急哭了 White Clouds Perch on the Tip of the Brush白云栖笔端Modern Romance1.1M WordsCompleted [The rating is low because so few people have rated it, not because it's not good!] Gu Tinglan has two "older brothers." One is her older brother in name, Gu Liansheng. They grew up together and relied on each other to survive in troubled times. The other is Lu Chengzhou, a powerful Young Marshal. Refined and mature, he's her guardian angel, rescuing her from danger time and again. She thought she could keep everything in balance, until she opened Gu Liansheng's diary and found it filled with th 384Reads8.3Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    All indigenous people, no time travel, no system. The female protagonist was adopted by the male protagonist when she was about to freeze to death. From then on, she changed from a rural girl to a wealthy lady, and the male protagonist became her brother. A few years later, the male protagonist's family was ruined, and the male protagonist worked hard to make money for his sister to study and raise her to grow up.

21. 121 囚 The Third Daughter in the Cage 囚笼之三女 Shang Yunxi, Who Loves Bone Broth爱吃大骨汤的商云席Modern Romance752k WordsCompleted They say that with one thought you can become a Buddha, and with another, a demon. But you can give it everything you have and still fail to become a Buddha. You can be reborn and turn your life around, yet still fail to become a demon and return bloodthirsty. All that remains is helplessness in the vast sea of life: unable to save yourself or anyone else. The protagonist, Zhang Xin, was born in an era that favored boys over girls. Her mother gave birth again and again but never managed to have 107Reads7.0Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    Chronology, chronology.

22. 122 最 The Strongest Clan: No One in the Yu Family Backs Down 最强家族：郁家无怂人 A nomi阿nomiModern Romance549k WordsCompleted Yu Yu thinks the sky has fallen. She turns out to be the fake heiress. The real heiress is coming in hot. What should she do? Sniffle, Dad, are you still going to care about me? Oh, good. As long as you still do. Boohoo, Big Brother, you can't treat her better than me. Fine, I won't. And just like that, the sky clears again. In a turbulent era, great families struggle to survive. The Yu family alone stands firm, unyielding! When family members scheme and the world turns ruthless, the Yu fami 8.5kReads8.0Score461Shelves

    Reader note

    All members are indigenous and full of contrast.

23. 123 为 A Career in Public Service 为民官路 At Ease and Unrestrained安心无忌Urban1.8M WordsOngoing [A gritty, realistic tale of ambition and struggle in the government ranks] In 1990, top student Zhen Weimin offends the wrong people and gets kicked down to a poor rural township. Everyone thinks his life is over. But he is determined to make flowers bloom among the thorns. He breaks through obstacles with his knowledge and grounds himself in his conscience, with every step in sync with the pulse of the times. Starting in the township, he moves forward one step at a time. This is a true chronic 17.1kReads9.2Score1.8kShelves

    Reader note

    A very nice chronicle, highly recommended!

24. 124 六 A 1960s Local Learns the Plot 六零当土著知晓剧情 Little Spirit Dog小灵犬Modern Romance481k WordsCompleted Ming Yueshu has only been in the city for a few days, enjoying the good life after her father brings her there, when her younger half-brother pushes her down the stairs and she hits her head. While she's unconscious, a so-called transmigrated woman arrives to fight her for control of her body. After a struggle, Ming Yueshu destroys her. As a result, she gains the woman's memories and a thirty-square-meter pocket space. She learns that her world is a book, and that her scumbag father brought her 3.6kReads8.1Score259Shelves
25. 125 我 Things That Happened When I Was a Kid 我小时候的事 Xiaoxiao Nishang筱筱霓裳Modern Romance158k WordsCompleted I really don't have much talent for writing novels. I simply pieced together people and events from my childhood, along with scattered fragments of memory and everyday trivialities, as best I could. It's like sewing a patchwork garment out of scraps of floral fabric: from a distance it looks colorful and busy, but up close the seams are obvious, and it never quite comes together. Even so, I weighed every word and poured my passion and love into it, because I wrote it for my daughter. 66Reads—Score—Shelves
26. 126 兔 The Retainers of the Last Tusi of Tu'e 兔峨末代土司的眷属们 Yigunami依古娜咪Modern Romance181k WordsCompleted About the Book: The Tusi chieftaincy of the Luo family of Tu’e, Lanping, Nujiang Prefecture, Yunnan, lasted nearly six hundred years, from the Yuan dynasty through the Ming and Qing dynasties and the Republic of China. It passed through twenty-three generations before the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 brought the Tusi system to an end. This book was written by the granddaughter of Luo Xing, the last Tusi chieftain. It recounts the remarkable life of Yang Huizhen, wife of 11Reads—Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    The author is an Aboriginal, and the protagonist of the novel is an Aboriginal. He is extremely earthy.

27. 127 古 Neighbors in the Ancient City 古城邻里 Yigunami依古娜咪Modern Romance154k WordsCompleted A new work is here! Come read my work on Tomato Novel. I hope you enjoy it. Set in Yuhè Courtyard, the central compound of Qinghuai Lane in an ancient riverside city in southern China, this novel traces a century of ups and downs among several longtime residents and their neighbors. Through their stories, it captures the changes in the city from the early years after liberation to the present day, the younger generation’s outlook on life amid a market economy, the bustle of its streets and lanes 8Reads—Score—Shelves
28. 128 文 The Educated Youth of Wenhai Village 文海村知青 Yigunami依古娜咪Modern Romance108k WordsCompleted A new work is here! Set in the 1960s and 1970s, this novel follows educated youth Ye Sijia and her companion Lin Can as they leave the cities for the countryside. It tells how they face all kinds of challenges in life and work, and eventually find hope. Come read my work on Tomato Novel. I hope you enjoy it! Your support is what keeps me writing, and I’ll do my best to tell every story well! 42Reads—Score—Shelves
29. 129 有 There Was a Girl Named Xiaohua 有个女孩叫小花 My Little Warm Jackets我的小棉袄们Modern Romance420k WordsOngoing My new work is here! You’re welcome to read it on Tomato Novel. I hope you’ll enjoy it. Your support inspires me to write, and I’ll do my best to tell every story well! This book captures some of the culture and food of rural northern Fujian in the 1980s and 1990s. Follow Xiaohua and her family as they work hard and lead warm, ordinary lives. No exaggeration, melodrama, or foolish antics. It’s not a feel-good power fantasy, and there’s no rebirth or transmigration. There’s no golden finger, just 37Reads8.9Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    Chun Chun Aboriginal Chronicles [Love] [Love] [Love]

30. 130 姜 Jiang Xiaohua 姜晓花 Little Pear Blossom O小梨花OModern Romance484k WordsCompleted In the bitter winter of 1976, Jiang Xiaohua was sixteen. Her family had almost nothing; her father was gravely ill, her mother weak-willed, and her younger brother still a child. Desperate for food, she was forced into a bride swap and nearly sold off, struggling on the brink of life and death before finally marrying into the Chen family, the most quarrelsome and favoritism-ridden family around. Her sisters-in-law ostracized her, her mother-in-law mistreated her, her husband stumbled, her childr 666Reads—Score—Shelves
31. 131 1 In 1975, I Went to the Countryside to Escape Disaster 1975年我下乡避祸 Niu Shi牛柿Urban1.5M WordsCompleted This is not a feel-good power fantasy. There is no pocket dimension, no System, no rebirth, and no transmigration. The times are turbulent, and the road ahead is uncertain. To protect Li Chengxiao, his family bears the pain of sending him to the countryside for an assigned rural posting, away from danger. Alone, he puts down roots in the village, enduring hardship and lying low with quiet resolve. With his unique insight and steady temperament, he establishes himself amid adversity, discreetly b 81.9kReads8.4Score10.1kShelves

    Reader note

    [Bookshelf plus one][bookshelf plus one][bookshelf plus one]

32. 132 昂 A Life Full of Vigor 昂扬的生命 Pomegranate Blossoms in May榴花映五月Modern Romance616k WordsCompleted I dedicate this book to the first generation of only children, and to the teachers’ college graduates who devoted themselves to education in this land. Each person has only one life. How should we live this one and only life? Looking across history and around the world, many inspiring books have explored this theme. I, an unknown nobody, hope to join their ranks and have chosen the same theme. I hope my work won’t be lost among the masterpieces of celebrated writers. This work will focus on Ji 359Reads—Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    This book tells the story of the growth of an only daughter born in the 1970s in western Sichuan. All members are indigenous, with no time travel and no space.

33. 133 羽 Ascension, Yet No Immortality 羽化非仙 Tangtang Doesn't Sleep糖糖不睡觉Xianxia703k WordsOngoing [No System, no golden finger, no harem, not a transmigration story] [There is no sect competition, and yet it is the truest sect competition of all: the losers will see their lives, sects, traditions, and even their entire races erased.] The righteous path is not as bright and noble as it appears; The demonic path is not as cruel and bloodthirsty as it is portrayed; But evil cultivators are even more wicked than anyone could imagine. Here, there is love that spans ten thousand years, hatred that 4kReads—Score497Shelves

    Reader note

    The righteous path is full of bugs, the demonic path is full of lunatics, and the righteous path actually invades the demonic path! The protagonist witnessed with his own eyes that the cultivator turned into an ugly insect when he ascended to immortality! From then on, while exploring the truth, I struggled to survive...[Top post][Grass has been planted]

34. 134 手 I Tear Into My Awful Relatives, Leaving My Educated-Youth Parents Stunned 手撕极品亲戚，知青爹妈惊呆了 Reading at Midnight夜半读书Modern Romance1.6M WordsOngoing (Doing business in the 1980s + a local-born protagonist + no golden finger + taking on terrible relatives) A spineless dad, a weak stepmother, grandparents who play favorites, and greedy uncles. That’s what Cheng Shu faces from the start when he returns to the city from the countryside with his parents. As he matches wits with his relatives, he also sets up stalls and gets into business. 12.1kReads8.5Score963Shelves

    Reader note

    Aboriginal!! The eighties. The protagonist follows his parents back to the city from the countryside. At the beginning, he faces his father Baozi, his stepmother is weak, his grandparents are partial, and his uncles are greedy. . While battling wits with relatives, he set up a stall and did business.

35. 135 我 I'm Good! Please Don't Hurt Me! 我很乖！请你不要来伤害！ Liu Li Fei Cheng刘李菲程Modern Romance688k WordsOngoing [Contemporary fiction] [Ensemble of women] [Scheming] [Red and Black] [Playing dumb while taking down enemies] [Clear-eyed heroine] A must-read for anyone born in the seventies, eighties, or nineties! This is a northern take on The Red and the Black, set in a glittering world of fame and fortune where everyone wears a false mask. The heroine seems sweet and obedient on the surface, but she sees things more clearly than anyone! She can live without love, but not without money! She can put up with 66Reads8.8Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    Gemini girls... Post-80s... Very real

36. 136 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 5.5kReads8.7Score500Shelves

    Reader note

    It is a period novel that will make you feel fresh and fresh. It is neither bloody nor imaginative. It has real characters and real experiences.

37. 137 沉 Years of Quiet Reflection 沉淀的岁月 Li Xinxin李馨欣Modern Romance560k WordsCompleted The story follows the lives of three high school girls from rural backgrounds. In the fall of 1964, the confident, ambitious “top student” Yu Hongying, the warmhearted and forthright “knight-errant” Li Chunfen, and the reserved, introspective lady Yue Shuqian unexpectedly meet in their first-year dormitory, along with the “campus belle” Yang Yuhuan and the “fake Marxist-Leninist” Wu Lihong. This sets off a series of stories, some serious, some amusing, some bizarre, and some full of joy and sorr 457Reads—Score—Shelves
38. 138 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 2Reads—Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    Looks good, try it

39. 139 山 Chronicles of Mountains and Rivers 山河志 A Dao阿刀Urban1.9M WordsCompleted His beautiful mother was nearly assaulted by a village lout, but she tearfully begged the man who rescued her not to call the police. Young Gao Yuan couldn’t understand why at the time. Only when he reached his thirties and looked back on the past, with those scenes flashing through his mind, did he realize that the lives of countless rural people together form a chronicle of the mountains and rivers of China! 110.6kReads9.6Score12.1kShelves

    Reader note

    All members are indigenous, super good-looking

40. 140 流 A Shooting Star Streaks By, Leaving Traces on the Years 流星划过，岁月有痕 Amber Aurora琥珀色北极光Modern Romance168k WordsCompleted This is a powerful work that deeply portrays the intertwined paths of growth for the post-80s generation and the changes of the times. The story follows its protagonist, Zhao Fei, from his green and innocent days in middle school, through the passionate years of university, and into the struggles and discoveries of life after graduation. It delicately depicts how Zhao Fei and his generation search for themselves and realize their worth amid the currents of the times, while also reflecting the sw 1Reads—Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    This is a masterpiece that profoundly depicts the intertwining growth trajectory of the generation born in the 1980s and the changes of the times. The protagonist of the story, Zhao Fei, goes from being ignorant in middle school to his passionate college years and his struggle and exploration after entering society. It depicts how Zhao Fei's generation finds himself and realizes his value in the tide of the times. It also reflects the great changes in China's politics, economy, culture and other aspects in the past thirty years. This is a story about dreams, struggle, love and sacrifice. It is an affectionate look back at the past years and a firm look forward to the hope for the future. In the stories of Zhao Fei and others who laugh and cry, everyone can find their own shadow and feel the era that the post-80s generation experienced.

41. 141 闯 Heading to the Northeast: Lin Erni's Bumpy Road to Happiness 闯关东：林二妮的颠簸幸福路 Liu Piao留飘Modern Romance1.3M WordsCompleted [No contrived twists] [No cheat powers] [Traditional] [Realistic] [Period] [Rural] [Hardship] [Inspirational] Lin Erni was born in Heze, Shandong, and married into Harbin in the Northeast. She struggled to get by amid the freezing snow in the mountains, then later had no one to rely on and went alone beyond the mountains to make a living. The first time, she was tossed from one place to another like a bag of steamed buns, made a child bride, and beaten and cursed. The second time, her father sol 30.2kReads9.4Score3.1kShelves

    Reader note

    The protagonist relies solely on his stubbornness to survive and becomes the envy of others

42. 142 平 The Plains' True Colors 平原底色 Ban Liang搬凉Urban116k WordsOngoing Beginning in the twenty-first century, this novel follows Fang Lizhu, a child of the post-80s generation growing up in the rural Jianghan Plain of central China. Through Fang Lizhu's education, work, and the many people he meets and events he experiences, the novel portrays how life has changed for people across the plains since the start of the new century. It also depicts the many ways ordinary people respond to sweeping changes in a new era and a shifting social landscape: the choices they ma 37Reads—Score114Shelves

    Reader note

    The writing is simple and the emotions are delicate! A book that resonates with those born in the 1980s and 1990s! The novel is written from the beginning of the 21st century. It takes Fang Lizhu, a child born in the 1980s in the rural area of ​​Jianghan Plain in the central region, as the perspective. By describing the various people and events Fang Lizhu encounters during his studies and work, it reflects on the one hand the changes in the overall life of the people in the plain after entering the new century. On the other hand, it also reflects the various life patterns of small people in the face of great changes in the trend of the times and in the context of the big era and the big background, such as active or passive choices, active persistence or passive escape.

43. 143 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 459Reads—Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    The true character of the local people, the original flavor, the period literature with tears in the corners of the eyes and light in the heart.

44. 144 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—Shelves

    Reader note

    Local character, authentic and original, top-notch contemporary writing

45. 145 遇 Meeting Her Made My Heart Beat Faster 遇见她心动不止 Tung Oil Fruit桐油果Modern Romance493k WordsCompleted [Love at first sight + mistaken identity + mutual secret crushes + healing + female growth] Everyone is level-headed and knows what they’re doing, so read without worry. Jiang Nan, insecure and neglected by her family, meets He Chengyang. A twist of fate sends their budding romance down the wrong path. He Chengyang mistakes Jiang Nan, the girl he fell in love with at first sight, for her older sister, Jiang Xue, and they begin a brief relationship. (Nothing inappropriate happens between them.) W 7.8kReads8.5Score471Shelves

    Reader note

    These realistic romance novels do not involve rebirth, time travel, or intelligence.

46. 146 初 I Couldn’t Hide My Heart’s Flutter When We First Met 初见心动藏不住 Tung Oil Fruit桐油果Modern Romance136k WordsCompleted [Love at first sight + heroine pursues hero + nine-year age gap + sweet, down-to-earth romance + happy ending] The lively and spirited Chen Luochen meets Chu Yun when she's twenty. She falls for him at first sight, unable to hide the light in her eyes. She has only one thought: make him hers. After confirming he's single, she boldly confesses, “Big brother, will you be my boyfriend?” Chu Yun gently turns her down with a single line: “We're not right for each other.” But Chen Luochen doesn't back 1.1kReads—Score104Shelves
47. 147 岁 After All These Years, We Finally Meet Again 岁月流转终相见 Tung Oil Fruit桐油果Modern Romance485k WordsCompleted [Reunion After Years Apart + Rekindled Love + Healing Through Family + Realistic Happy Ending] After drifting apart like clouds, ten years passed like flowing water. When we met again, my heart recognized you before I did. A summer romance came to an abrupt end because of an unfortunate misunderstanding. More than ten years later, thirty-five-year-old Gu Yan discovered by chance that he had a daughter in high school, and was reunited with the girl he had loved when he was young. Long-buried memo 4.6kReads7.4Score193Shelves
48. 148 重 A Long Road to Reunion 重逢路漫漫 Tung Oil Fruit桐油果Modern Romance357k WordsCompleted [The right people will find their way back to each other, no matter how many twists and turns it takes.] [One true pairing, both leads are each other's only ones + reunion after a long separation + winning back his wife and claiming his child + adorable kids playing matchmaker] Zhou Yuan met Qin Yue by chance and fell in love at first sight. After one passionate night together, an urgent assignment sent him overseas. Before leaving, he thought he'd arranged everything properly, never imagining t 4.2kReads8.9Score241Shelves
49. 149 单 Mr. Zhou, My Unrequited Love 单恋的周先生 Tung Oil Fruit桐油果Modern Romance400k WordsCompleted [Older Woman, Younger Man + Redemption + Realistic Romance] Three-year age gap. [Secret Love Becomes Mutual, from the Male Lead’s Perspective; Marriage First, Love Later, from the Female Lead’s Perspective] Everyone is level-headed and clear-minded. The woman Zhou Wang had kept in his heart for three years. He thought there could never be anything between them and was ready to give up, but then he unexpectedly learned what she had been through. His heart ached for her, and at the same time, he f 1.4kReads8.2Score100Shelves
50. 150 深 Deep Inside My Core 深入我芯 Tung Oil Fruit桐油果Modern Romance403k WordsCompleted [Love at First Sight + Mutual Devotion + One Couple Only + Sweet Romance] Their first two meetings were accidental. Every coincidence after that was part of his carefully laid plan. When Jiang Yi Shen met Tang Xin, he fell for her at first sight. He quietly set his plans in motion, and the two got to know each other, fell in love, and walked hand in hand into marriage, sharing the warm everyday moments of life from the first flush of romance to raising children. Side story one: Xu Man thought sh 2.1kReads8.7Score180Shelves

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