The Gold Standard of Historical-Era Novels, with Incredible Vividness 年代文的天花板，画面感贼强

1. 1 年 1979: Meat for My Wife and Kids 年代1979：带着老婆孩子吃肉 Village Demon Fire乡妖火Urban4.7M WordsOngoing [Rural life in the late 1970s] [One female lead] [Comedy] [Slow-paced] [Raising children] Reborn in 1979, Li Xiangdong becomes a train water-supply worker. While others are still fretting over how to make ends meet, he's already enjoying a comfortable life with his wife and children at home. (A realistic slice of life. Each character has both strengths and flaws, and not everyone is meant to be likable. If that's not what you're looking for, please move along.) 185.1kReads9.3Score11.2kShelves

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   This is currently the best book I've been following.

2. 2 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 21.7kReads9.4Score2.1kShelves

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   I absolutely love these books!

3. 3 穿 Transmigrating to the 1970s: The One-Shot System Takes Me to New Heights 穿越七零：秒杀系统带我飞 Mu Ran9牧然9Modern Romance1.4M WordsOngoing The rating just came out, so it’ll go up later! 1970: I Have a Golden Finger and a Maxed-Out Family Ding! Your limited-time flash-sale System has been bound! Wen Jingshu, an English major in graduate school in 2024, was halfway through studying for the civil service exam when she transmigrated. When she woke up, she’d become a graduate student in trade and economics in 1970. Her father was a police bureau chief, her mother a section chief at the agricultural bureau, her eldest brother a battalio 59.5kReads8.5Score7.3kShelves

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   [Original work fan][Original work fan][Original work fan] From an unemployed female master's student majoring in English in modern times to the "purchasing queen" of the supply and marketing cooperative in the 1970s—Wen Jingshu has a limited-time flash sale system in her hands. In an era of scarcity, she can buy five liters of oil for 0.01 yuan and dragon beard candy for eight cents. She has managed to turn her dreary days into a hot and exciting story.

4. 4 校 The Campus Belle’s Diploma Is Torn Up? Her Devoted Officer Won’t Back Down 校花毕业证被撕？痴情军官死死磕 The White-Faced One of the Elixir Pavilion丹阁白面者Modern Romance791k WordsOngoing "Young Master Xiao, Who Has Kept to Himself for Years..." Era, modern romance, sweet romance; school life, campus belle, business and entrepreneurship, urban life, military, equally matched leads, technology and research. Thank you, readers, for your reviews. The book has received a rating. It may not have shot straight to the top, but every review you leave helps raise its overall score. Thank you for your support. I also hope new readers will give it a few chapters. You won't regret investing 579Reads8.2Score101Shelves

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   Excluding the top tier, the middle tier is quite good when you look closely.

5. 5 成 I Became a Billionaire, but They Sent Me to a Mental Hospital 成了亿万富翁，我却被送进精神病 Wang the Fool王呆子Urban352k WordsOngoing In the early 1980s, Dugu Feng's father lost his iron rice bowl, and the family was so poor they could barely put food on the table. With no other choice, Dugu Feng gritted his teeth and took his whole family out to do backbreaking labor, starting by taking on the small construction jobs no one else wanted from contractors. He was an honest man who never cut corners, and his work was excellent. Little by little, he made a name for himself in the trade. From a small-time contractor to founding a 253Reads7.7Score124Shelves

   Reader note

   He became a billionaire, but his family sent him to a mental hospital. Let's take a look.

6. 6 重 Reborn in the 1980s: Starting with Selling Noodles 重生80年代，从卖面条开始 Loves Coconut Water c爱喝椰子水cUrban189k WordsOngoing [Made Entirely by Hand] [Period Novel + Food + Cozy Everyday Life + System + Farming] Jiang Jue unexpectedly is reborn in 1989 and takes over his family’s restaurant from the start! In an era short on good food, he’ll give diners a taste of culinary wonders! Noodles with shredded pork and green peppers, noodles with fried pork, Yangzhou fried rice, sea cucumber braised with scallions, Wensi tofu, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, mapo tofu, dry-fried rice noodles with beef, ginger duck... From nort 416Reads—Score105Shelves

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   [Please follow me][Please follow me][Please follow me]

7. 7 小 The Little Bridge Cave Family Compound 小桥洞家属院 Miss Lego乐高小姐Modern Romance500k WordsCompleted [Period Setting] [Ensemble Cast] [Everyday Life] The results came out a few months after it was completed. This novel is fantastic! Zhang Yan and Deng Yang were born in the Xiaoqiaodong factory compound and grew up beneath the chimneys of the State Chemical Plant. There was no glamour or respectability here, only the bustle of daily life, sweat, arguments, and warmth. In 1997, as firecrackers exploded to celebrate Hong Kong's return, they still thought their parents would wear their work uniform 482Reads8.1Score102Shelves

   Reader note

   A fantastic period drama featuring a diverse cast of characters! Highly recommended!

8. 8 一 1987, Before Spring Arrives 一九八七，春未至 Meatball with a Fried Egg煎蛋的肉肉Modern Romance827k WordsCompleted This is a novel you won’t forget, especially its heroine, Li Shan! [No System, no pocket space, no transmigration, no rebirth] Period-setting comeback story + single mother builds a career Li Shan joyfully brings her college acceptance letter home, only for her parents to tell her the family has no money and she can’t go. Through her brother-in-law’s connections, she gets a job as a textile factory worker and works her way into the office as a translator. Then the factory goes bankrupt. Her pare 360Reads—Score—Shelves
9. 9 桃 At the Source of the Peach Blossom Spring 桃花源头 Yicang, Who Loves Microraptors喜欢小盗龙的矢仓Rural Life558k WordsOngoing As Old Zhou Nian lay dying, he took Zhou Liye by the hand and told him, “Xiaoye, it's up to you to carry on the Zhou family line. If you trace our family back far enough, we go all the way to the Zhou dynasty, to King Wen of Zhou, King Wu of Zhou, Ji Chang, and Ji Fa. Our ancestors were once members of the imperial family, and our original surname was Ji. It was only after the dynasties changed that our family took the surname Zhou! Here's our ancestral genealogy and the family heirloom, this ja 118.7kReads7.7Score9.7kShelves

   Reader note

   This is a really good novel, I recommend it to everyone! It's set in a rural area, so it feels very down-to-earth! The writing style is humorous, light, and fun!

10. 10 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 17Reads—Score114Shelves

    Reader note

    This book is incredibly relatable, resonating with the lives and struggles of those born in the 80s and 90s! The novel begins at the start of the 21st century, told from the perspective of Fang Lizhu, a young man born in the 1980s in a rural area of ​​the Jianghan Plain in central China. Through depicting the various people and events Fang Lizhu encounters during his studies and work, the book reflects both the changes in the lives of people in the plain after the turn of the century and the diverse lives of ordinary people facing dramatic changes in the era, whether they choose to actively persevere or passively escape.

11. 11 我 My Name Is Zhang Dagun. I Was Reborn and Have Three Ex-Wives 我叫张大棍，重生了，有三个前妻 Three-Nine Melody三九旋律Urban1.3M WordsOngoing [Also known as: My Name Is Zhang Dagan. I’ve Been Reborn, and I Have Three Ex-Wives! Reborn in the 1980s + Hunting + Devoted Husband + Period Drama + Northeast China + Everyday Family Life] My name is Zhang Dagan. I open my eyes and find myself back twenty years in the past, facing three women I once hurt! Zhang Dagan comes to his senses. All three of his ex-wives stood by him and raised their children, never abandoning him. He can’t keep fooling around with his third uncle anymore. He has to sh 20kReads7.6Score1.5kShelves

    Reader note

    The first out-of-print novel from a bygone era. [Thinking][Thinking][Thinking]

12. 12 玩 Making the Most of a Life Full of Ups and Downs 玩转跌宕起伏的人生 Liu Piao留飘Modern Romance325k WordsCompleted [Traditional] [Period] [Romance] [Countryside] [Ensemble Cast] [Revenge] [The 1980s] [Strong Female Lead] [Comeback] [Inspirational]… Li Huiping was bright and talented, but while preparing for the high school entrance exam, she spent time tutoring Qiao Shan, the classmate she had a crush on, and lost the chance to prepare for the exam herself. As a result, she missed out on getting into a key high school. After the exams, Qiao Shan ignored her. Heartbroken, Huiping saw through men’s fickleness 181Reads8.4Score106Shelves
13. 13 重 Reborn in 1958: Grandpa and Grandson Stockpile for the Famine Together 重生58爷孙空间联动囤爆灾荒年 Asking the Sword, Listening to Snow问剑听雪Urban800k WordsOngoing Peng Yi built his fortune from nothing, amassing billions, only to have his own children pull the plug and abandon him in his final years. He died full of hatred. Kneeling before the grave of his beloved Su Wanqing as he drew his last breath, he learned that she had once carried his child. At just twenty-three, she had died in a famine, and mother and child had suffered every hardship life could bring! Heaven had shown mercy: Peng Yi was reborn in 1958, on the eve of their flight from famine! A 5.1kReads—Score472Shelves

    Reader note

    One of the best period dramas ever written.

14. 14 镜 The World Within the Mirror 镜里人间 Mo Yu Liuchuan墨宇流川Urban475k WordsOngoing What is the meaning of being alive? I have yet to figure it out, but I know this: only by living well can I earn the right to seek the answer. Ye Xunchuan, who grew up in an orphanage, and Bai Ruochu, who came from a poor family, found their souls in harmony and became a couple at university. Their happy life after marriage came crashing down when their five-year-old daughter, Ye Qing, was diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease. The enormous medical bills broke Ye Xunchuan, who spiraled into de 9Reads—Score—Shelves
15. 15 共 Sailing Together 共舟行 Little Mouse Maomao阿鼠毛毛Modern Romance300k WordsCompleted [Small-Town Fiction | Slow Burn | 1v1, Both Leads Chaste | Ensemble Growth | Working-Class Struggles | Realistic | Period Setting] “Across a thousand miles, the boat speeds on; a letter of love rides home on the wind.” A small town in southern China in the 1990s A young man holds an unremarkable bouquet of roses And lays his feelings bare beneath the night sky From scraping by with a street stall to finding a way forward together Through wind and rain, they share life's many ups and downs This i 1.7kReads—Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    This book is very good.

16. 16 重 Reborn in 1980: Starting Out Hunting in the Forests and Snowfields! 重生80，从狩猎林海雪原开始！ Yang Sanjin杨三斤啊Urban3.0M WordsOngoing [(Add to your library and get rich) Devoted husband + Rebirth in the 1980s + Frequent updates + Hunting in Northeast China + One heroine + Pets] Haunted by guilt and regret, Chen Le is reborn in a rural village in Northeast China in the 1980s! In an age when guns and hunting are legal, women left behind at home can get a taste of good food by cozying up to men outside their marriages! Supplies are scarce, but natural resources are plentiful. The saying “club a roe deer, scoop up fish with a gour 84.2kReads8.2Score5.7kShelves
17. 17 东 A Northeastern Son-in-Law's Rise to Fortune, Starting with Hunting 东北姑爷子，从打猎开始逆袭致富 Shrimp虾米Urban2.6M WordsOngoing [A tribute to the 80s and 90s + reborn + Northeast China in the old days + hunting in the mountains + country cooking + doting on his wife + everyday family life + one heroine + childhood classics to savor again] Chen Ming is reborn in the 1980s, carrying the regrets of his past life. He discovers that his leg, which had left him crippled for life, can still be healed. He has another chance to make things right with the loved ones he failed: his wife and family! In the past, he was timid, lazy, 84.3kReads7.8Score2.4kShelves
18. 18 重 Reborn in the ’80s: Hunting, Living Large, and Loving It 重生80打猎，嘎嘎带派嘎嘎爽 Three-Nine Melody三九旋律Urban225k WordsCompleted [Northeastern China in the 1980s + historical-era devotee + pork kidneys + rebirth + hunting + border trade + family life + doting on his wife + local arms development] When Liu Xueying, the woman who had used and deceived him, and Qin Meiyun, the woman who had loved him deeply, both appeared before Zhang Liang again, he chose to repay grudges with vengeance and kindness with gratitude! When Zhang Liang opened his eyes, he was back in 1983. In his previous life, he had groveled for that woma 74Reads—Score—Shelves
19. 19 穿 Transmigrated into a Period Novel: The Villainess Is a Little Unhinged 穿进年代文：反派女配有点颠 Only Envy the Immortal Lord只羡仙君Modern Romance786k WordsCompleted Just because she made one snarky remark about people who were lovesick, Su Yitong transmigrates to the 1970s, becoming a young woman sent to work in the countryside in a remote, impoverished village. Still dazed, she takes a hostage and gets mistaken for an enemy spy, then locked in a woodshed. Only then does she realize she's transmigrated into a book as a melodramatic, ruthless villainess who meets a gruesome end! Follow the System's plot? Not a chance! This villainess loves doing the opposite 8.5kReads8.4Score556Shelves

    Reader note

    It's so good, I laughed until my stomach hurt, and it's so original. The people in it are definitely a bit crazy.

20. 20 重 Reborn in 1983: My Carefree Hunting Life in Northeast China 重生83：我在东北打猎的悠闲人生 Luo Tian洛天Urban3.6M WordsCompleted [Authentic period drama + no pocket dimension, no System + one heroine + devoted husband + hunting with guns + digging for ginseng + business + adorable pets + food + farming] Tang He had spent most of his life rushing from place to place. Just before he died suddenly, he saw once more the vast mountains, forests, and sea of trees in the Greater Khingan Range, along with the girl in the little floral jacket. Life was so exhausting and bitter. If he got another life, he thought, he would like t 10.3kReads8.8Score1.1kShelves
21. 21 关 The Guanshan Saber 关山刀 Yearning for Yaoshan尧山眷恋Historical86k WordsCompleted On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen God ascended to Heaven. Yan Feilong's father did not come home. Three days later, his mother was found dead in the village temple, a wound in her stomach. The twelve-year-old boy slipped a chipped knife into his clothes and walked into the salt flats, looking for a man: tall and thin, with a mole on his chin. He found him. Three strikes. One for his father, one for his mother, and the last so he could go on living. His revenge was d 42Reads—Score—Shelves

    Reader note

    A historical fiction work, without cultivation or fantasy elements. My first new work, a story about swordsmen from Guanzhong.

22. 22 四 Siheyuan: Starting Out as Little Rascal Kang Jiu 四合院：从小混蛋康九开始 The Mochi Is So Dark麻薯好黑Male-Channel Fanfiction1.0M WordsCompleted After waking from a deep sleep, I discovered I had become Kang Jiu, who was beaten to death by the children of the compound in Blood Romance. I also had a six-year-old little sister. And that wasn't all. The compound where I lived turned out to be the one from The Turbulent Households of the Courtyard. I planned to keep my head down for ten years and wait for my chance to take off. Bang Geng tried to steal my sister's food, so I slapped him flying. Jia Zhangshi tried to avenge her grandson, and 8.2kReads8.7Score306Shelves
23. 23 荒 A Traveler in Years of Famine 荒年客 Yearning for Yaoshan尧山眷恋Urban338k WordsCompleted A survival epic about ordinary Chinese people. From rural China to the torrents of modern life, three generations of the Hou family are swept along by the tide of history. The grandparents put down roots in the land. Their values, admonitions, and “family scandals” form the family's original identity and its shackles. The parents struggle through a time of transition, inheriting heavy burdens while kindling a desire to change their fate. As someone born in the 1980s, I linger at the divide betwe 148Reads6.6Score105Shelves
24. 24 重 Reborn in 1959: Little Everyday Moments in Nanluoguxiang 重生59南锣鼓巷之小日常 Gluttonous Badger贪吃獾Male-Channel Fanfiction2.9M WordsOngoing He transmigrates to the capital and settles on Nanluoguxiang. He fishes and farms, living a carefree life, learning to cook, appraising antiques, occasionally trading barbs with Zhang Haixing, and picking on the courtyard busybodies now and then. 66.7kReads8.2Score3kShelves
25. 25 埋 The Sister Buried Beneath My Feet 埋在我脚下的姐姐 Yearning for Yaoshan尧山眷恋17k WordsCompleted The Sister Buried Beneath My Feet 6Reads—Score—Shelves
26. 26 年 Period: The Day My Mother Returned to the City, I Chose to Go Up the Mountain 年代：母亲返城当天，我选择上山 Bubbles the Lazy Sheep懒羊羊吹泡泡Urban2.4M WordsOngoing [Fateful Choices | Resilience and Survival | Coming of Age in a Turbulent Era | The Pain of Family] The very day modern man Chen Jun's soul transmigrates into the countryside of the 1970s, he learns that his biological mother is returning to the city! This is not a story about complaining! The winds of an era swept away a generation's youth, but there are always people who manage to grow wheat in the cracks! 30.4kReads8.3Score1.9kShelves
27. 27 年 1973: Starting with Educated Youth Sent to the Countryside 年代1973：从知青下乡开始 Wen Xin闻信Urban682k WordsOngoing [Sent to the Countryside in the 1970s + Lighthearted Humor + Everyday Family Life + Cunning Old Fox] On the day Lu Yuan is sent down to the countryside, he saves the village’s five-year-old little matriarch. From then on, even the village dogs salute him... ... ... (From the start, there’s no stealing houses or jobs, an abusive stepmother, or cheating followed by revenge. Read with caution if that’s what you’re looking for!) 3.6kReads7.6Score127Shelves
28. 28 留 Left Behind in the Great Northern Wilderness 留守北大荒 Engineering Dog工程狗Urban2.0M WordsOngoing Zhang Hongqi was framed and nearly sentenced to prison for profiteering, but fortunately, a benefactor came to his aid. However, he was still disciplined and was about to be sent to a settlement for educated youth, then returned to the city. Zhang Hongqi faced two choices: return to the city with a disciplinary record, where people would look down on him and his family would suffer for it, or settle in the Great Northern Wilderness and give up his status as an educated youth for good. 86.7kReads8.5Score6.8kShelves
29. 29 血 Blood-Colored Romance: I, the Big Rascal, Zhong Yuemin! 血色浪漫：我，大顽主，钟跃民！ Kid from Beneath Niushan牛山下的娃儿Male-Channel Fanfiction1.4M WordsOngoing [Transmigration] + [Pocket Dimension] + [Sent-Down Youth] + [Beijing Neighborhood Toughs] He wakes up in a time of burning passion, having transmigrated into the body of Zhong Yuemin, a tough from one of Beijing’s military compounds. Characters from A Romantic Life come one after another: Zhou Xiaobai, born into a military family, young, beautiful, romantic, and a little haughty. Qin Ling, a sent-down youth who excels at singing and dancing but has fallen on hard times and been sent to the count 24.1kReads8.2Score1.8kShelves
30. 30 都 We’re All Reborn, So Who Still Wants to Be Someone’s Lackey? 都重生了谁还拉帮套啊 Meow Erbai喵二白Urban1.7M WordsCompleted In his previous life, Cao Chaoyang acted on impulse and chose the path of becoming his sister-in-law’s live-in helper, moving into her home. He worked hard to support his elder brother’s family for twenty years, only for his brother’s legs, crippled for years, to suddenly recover. Thrown out of the house overnight, he had no choice but to get away from people and become a forest ranger. Reborn in 1973, when his sister-in-law once again knelt before him, Cao Chaoyang said firmly, “No!” He would n 17kReads8.8Score1.4kShelves

    Reader note

    It's a novel worth reading; the protagonist is fairly ordinary and doesn't have any special abilities.

31. 31 弹 The On-Screen Comments Terrify the Delicate 1970s Female Lead, and the Big Shot Holds Her Close to Comfort Her 弹幕吓坏七零娇女配，大佬掐腰哄 Sweet Medicine甜药Modern Romance858k WordsCompleted [Alternate-history era + spoiler-filled comments + stealing someone’s sweetheart + pure indulgence + building wealth + everyday family life. A possessive, doting, aristocratic young man sent down to the countryside × a spoiled, coquettish beauty transformed by the comments] As the only daughter of the village chief of Songjia Village, Song Jiaojiao is every bit as sweet as her name. Her whole family has spoiled her since childhood. Shen Yanli, the educated youth she met through matchmaking, fell 18.7kReads8.6Score2kShelves

    Reader note

    It's so good, so good! I've already finished reading it. It's the best historical romance novel I've ever read, a coming-of-age story with a strong female lead. I love how she's so capable and independent, not the delicate type. Jiaojiao, you two must be happy together! [Crying][crying][crying]

32. 32 卖 I Sold My Dad into a Son-in-Law Marriage, and My Three Stepbrothers Dote on Me 卖爹去入赘，我被三个继兄宠上天 Bouncing Bunny蹦跶兔Modern Romance1.4M WordsOngoing The live-action short dramas "Beloved on the Road to Exile: Dad Marries into a New Family, and I Strike It Rich" and "Beloved in the 1980s: Dad Marries into a New Family, and I Become a Tycoon" are now streaming! [Pretty, Delicate, Sunshine-Loving Heroine + Rough Hero Who dotes on His Wife] + Mutual Healing + Everyday Family Life After being reborn, the first thing Shen Mingzhu did was send her dad off to marry into another family! In her previous life, the Feng father and son tortured her un 82.9kReads7.9Score5.7kShelves

    Reader note

    Look how nice this is!

33. 33 重 Back to the 1960s: My Parents Chose Their Adopted Daughter Over Me 重回六零，爹妈为了养女不要我了 Bouncing Bunny蹦跶兔Modern Romance1.4M WordsCompleted 6.6kReads8.9Score560Shelves
34. 34 穿 A Leisurely Life After Transmigrating to 1959! 穿越1959的悠闲生活！ Chang Nian c长念cUrban867k WordsOngoing [Space] [Hunting] [No dark or violent themes] [Family life] In his previous life, this overworked wage slave spent every night working overtime on construction sites and died at the age of twenty-four. When he woke up, he had somehow transmigrated into 1959... 7.5kReads7.0Score581Shelves
35. 35 从 From Deputy Director to Army Commander: The Yan Family's Rise 从副局长到入朝军长阎家逆袭 Drunk Moon, Clear Breeze醉月清风Male-Channel Fanfiction1.1M WordsCompleted [Siheyuan] + [Romance in the Blood] + [Glorious Era] + [The Little Woman Under Zhengyang Gate] + [Under Zhengyang Gate] + [Hutong] + [Bright Sword] + [Snow Leopard] Yan Suma, the cousin of Yan Bugu and Yan Shuzhai, joins the honored ranks of the public security forces when the city of Beiping is liberated. Yang Ruihua: “Dear, what's your cousin's background?” Yan Bugu: “I'd like to know that myself! The guy won't tell us a thing. Everyone drinking with him last night was bragging like crazy!” 11.8kReads6.1Score418Shelves
36. 36 重 Reborn in 1960: I Have a Space and Take the Road Less Traveled 重生60，我有空间不走寻常路 Misty Rain in a Quiet Mountain Village寂静山村烟雨蒙蒙Urban1.3M WordsCompleted Chu Fan, a young man from a prominent compound, died in a gang fight. Another Chu Fan, with the same name, took his place and survived, making a name for himself among the local toughs. When faced with the choice of joining the army or going to the countryside, he chose the countryside. He still went on to live a remarkable life. 30.8kReads8.3Score2.1kShelves
37. 37 年 Period: Starting in ’57, I Make a Fortune 年代：开局57，风生水起 Thousand-Feathered Fox千羽狐Urban999k WordsOngoing [Period Piece | Everyday Family Life | One Female Lead/No Female Lead | Building Wealth | Slow-Paced] This is my first time writing a book, so please forgive any shortcomings. The good news: I’ve transmigrated, and I have a golden finger. The bad news: I’ve transmigrated to an era where everything is in short supply. See how Lin Fan makes his way in the world during this difficult time. 31.5kReads7.2Score3.2kShelves
38. 38 天 The Sky Fell. I Blinked and Woke Up in Nanluoguxiang 天塌了，一闭一睁我穿到了南锣鼓 The Silent Dog and the Flying Pig沉默的狗会飞的猪Male-Channel Fanfiction1.0M WordsCompleted (Lighthearted and cheerful) (Golden finger: Secret Realm Space) After working overtime all night, Li Kaixin dies suddenly on the job and unexpectedly transmigrates to Courtyard 93, across from Courtyard 95 in the world of Birds Fill the Courtyard. Here, he has loving parents, younger siblings who adore one another, grandparents who love him more than life itself, simple-hearted villagers, and helpful neighbors, as well as... Follow Li Kaixin as he makes it through the lean years and builds a goo 21.9kReads6.8Score1.4kShelves
39. 39 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 Romance995k 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

    This is a fantastic period novel, [Sparrow's Masterpiece]. The author's writing is exquisite, bringing the imagery to life. Prices are incredibly accurate, down to the cent. [Added to my bookshelf!] It subverts tropes, with no military marriage or stepmother, focusing instead on everyday family life. The female lead attends a vocational school and doesn't go to the countryside. [Thumbs up!] The only downside is the low rating due to fewer reviews. [Already hooked!] Another great thing about this book is its strong sense of the era, depicting the hardships of life and the need for ration coupons for everything. Unlike some period novels that feel no different from today, this one can be enjoyed as a combination of period fiction and farming fiction.

40. 40 爷 Grandpa, I Was Reborn, I Swear I'm Not Possessed 爷爷，我是重生，真不是鬼上身 Bincheng Lao San滨城老三Mystery3.6M WordsOngoing [Traditional Mystery and Supernatural Fiction] [One Female Lead] [Period Novel] [A Funeral Master’s True Accounts] [Northeastern Chinese Funeral Customs] [Rural Life] Adapted into the short drama Eighties Funeral Master (Disclaimer: The folk techniques in this book, including Zhuyou healing rituals, are entirely fictional. Please do not imitate them. The author bears no responsibility for any problems that may arise.) Good grief, I’ve been reborn in 1986, and from the start Grandpa thinks I’m a 62.3kReads9.3Score5.4kShelves

    Reader note

    A really good period drama, highly recommended!

41. 41 重 Back to 1985: Don't Call Me Comrade, Call Me Husband! 重回85叫什么同志叫老公！ I Still Dare我还敢Urban1.4M WordsCompleted In Northeast China in 1985, an era known as the darkest of times: a young man, a hunting rifle, a heart full of passion, and a jianghu shrouded in gun smoke... In an age when might makes right, a man’s fierce devotion and true-to-life nature are what it takes to get ahead in the Northeast. A period novel, the rise of an ordinary man, one heroine, dual transmigration. 11.1kReads9.1Score807Shelves
42. 42 我 I'm Just a Village Doctor, Is It Really So Strange That I Know the Thirteen Ghost Gate Needles? 我一个村医会鬼门十三针很合理吧 Bincheng Lao San滨城老三Urban2.0M WordsCompleted After his grandfather died, Chen Mo returned from the city hospital to his village and became its new barefoot doctor. Who says a barefoot doctor can’t amount to anything? Surrounded by beautiful mountains and rivers, with no nine-to-five grind or mortgage, he can turn his hometown into a paradise. Northeastern customs, everyday stories, and local life: it’s all here. Urban daily life, one heroine, no System, just little stories to enjoy over tea. This book is also known as The Years I Served as 14.9kReads9.1Score1.4kShelves
43. 43 火 The Red-Hot Years: Passionate Days in the Siheyuan 火红年代：四合院之激情岁月 Wandering Through the Alleyways游荡在胡同Male-Channel Fanfiction1.3M WordsCompleted A novel for readers with some life experience. Through the eyes of its protagonist, Ling Fei, it vividly portrays the everyday details and scenes of city life in that era, capturing the way things really were back then. Amid the sweeping changes of a great age, there is hardship and suffering, confusion and disappointment, joy and passion. See how ordinary people find a spiritual home amid the torrent of history. It's hard to say what is right or wrong, and harder still to untangle every dispute 5.9kReads7.6Score366Shelves
44. 44 南 The Long Years of Nanluoguxiang 南锣鼓巷之岁月悠悠 Green Tea's Pure Elegance绿茶清韵Male-Channel Fanfiction855k WordsCompleted A minor state-owned enterprise manager in his fifties transmigrates to Nanluoguxiang in 1962. When he opens his eyes, he finds three older brothers ahead of him and a younger brother behind him. There are five bachelors in the family, and right across the street is the famous Number 95 Siheyuan, known throughout the heavens. He does have a golden finger, but all it can provide is food and drink, with no other benefits. Follow the story of Jiang Laosi as he leads his brothers through this extraor 3kReads6.8Score150Shelves
45. 45 四 Siheyuan: I Only Want to Live a Quiet Life 四合院：只想平淡过一生 Beneath the Stars, Just for You披星戴月只为你Male-Channel Fanfiction2.4M WordsCompleted This book is dedicated to my younger self, to the chaos of those days and the loneliness buried deep inside, and to everyone who can't help looking back on the past. It's also dedicated to you, if you'd like to learn about life in Beijing's crowded courtyard compounds. This place was once a little world of its own: the gray walls were mottled, the doorways stood side by side, and life was noisy and real. Neighbors schemed and quarreled, clashing over every inch of land and wall, and getting red 35kReads7.9Score1.2kShelves

    Reader note

    Although set in a courtyard house, the writing is excellent. The author's deep connection to Beijing is evident in the elderly women's verbal battles, and the protagonist is remarkably righteous. Currently serialized at two million words, it avoids formulaic storytelling. All characters are intelligent, the writing style is humorous, and the book is clean and straightforward, free of scatological humor. Set in 1953, it features a rigorous and logically sound portrayal of a powerful industrial nation. There's no hostility; the protagonist, Lao Liu, initially seems saintly, but later reveals his cunning and manipulative nature. It avoids simplistic black-and-white characterizations, presenting a protagonist with a grand vision and a deep concern for his country.

46. 46 都 A City Wage Earner's Rise to Legend 都市打工人，逆袭成传奇 Maplewhisper Writes枫语作Urban2.3M WordsOngoing [Millennium Era] [Factory Comeback] [Mature Women] [Multiple Female Leads] [Workplace] [Romance] [Urban Underworld] [Feel-Good Story] [Heiresses] [Campus Beauties] [Goddesses] [Rich Beauties] [Older Women] [Everyday Family Life] [Urban Comeback] [Adapted from Real Life] This is an inspirational story about Hao Qiangzhuang, an ordinary wage worker who suddenly gets the opportunity of a lifetime: to become the boss's son-in-law and heir! But he has no idea that a web of schemes lies behind it all. 33kReads7.7Score4.4kShelves

    Reader note

    I started by clicking in to take a quick look, but ended up staying up all night.

47. 47 四 Siheyuan: There’s a Door in My Mind 四合院：我的脑中有扇门 Baiwang San百望三Male-Channel Fanfiction508k WordsCompleted Terminal illness, unemployment, and a broken family: after one blow after another, Bai Anbang settles in a small village. He spends his days walking along mountain paths, gazing up at the stars in the courtyard, and clearing his mind in the warm afternoon sun. He only wants to spend the rest of his life in peace. When he opens his eyes again, the world has changed. With earthen houses and old slogans all around him, he initially thinks he’s simply returned to his parents’ generation. Then he rea 3.7kReads7.3Score182Shelves

    Reader note

    Historical fiction, book recommendation.

48. 48 四 Siheyuan: My Life Starts Over 四合院：我的人生重新开始 Baiwang San百望三Male-Channel Fanfiction563k WordsCompleted A top student from the future accidentally arrives in the world of the courtyard houses. He wants no part in the petty squabbles in the neighborhood or the scheming at work. All he wants is to enjoy a peaceful life at home, whatever storms may rage outside. 7.1kReads8.4Score198Shelves
49. 49 四 Siheyuan: A Young Hunter’s Arrival in the City 四合院：小猎户进城记 Baiwang San百望三Male-Channel Fanfiction546k WordsCompleted Su San grew up roaming the jianghu, but unexpectedly found himself in the 1960s. In this life, he doesn't want to stir up trouble. All he wants is a warm home with a wife and children. A little wine and meat every day would make it even better. 2kReads8.7Score100Shelves
50. 50 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 4.2kReads7.5Score222Shelves

    Reader note

    This Beijing-style novel, though somewhat simplistic, is very enjoyable and worth reading for avid readers; it even has the feel of a physical book.

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