Female Leads Starting Businesses and Building Careers 女主创业文/搞事业文

1. 1 穿 Becoming the Ex-Wife of a Daughter-Doting Tycoon 穿成女儿奴大佬的前妻 Red Celery and Crisp Wine红芹酥酒Romance598k WordsCompleted [If you've bought the complete book, please leave a five-star rating before you go!] Originally titled "A Better Life After Rebirth" Jiang Rou first saw that man in an interrogation room. Down on his luck, silent, and grim... His eyes were ruthless, and he wore a mocking smile, but there was no denying he was handsome. Even at forty, with fine lines at the corners of his eyes, it was hard to imagine what he must have looked like when he was young. His name was Li Xiao. The police had been tra 292.9kFavorites666.6kClicks/ch287.2kGifts

   Curator note

   Many people recommend this story, but I honestly think it's just so-so. It doesn't involve much of a career (if I remember correctly, it's about selling food), and the male lead is a soldier—I've read too many stories like this.

2. 2 重 Back To The 90s 重回九零 Huai Su怀愫Romance1.1M WordsCompleted [Everyday life in a bygone era] Lin Wenjun lay on the operating table, looking back on a life that had, by all accounts, been pretty good. Her husband had made his fortune in the 1990s. He never kept a mistress or cheated on her. Her three children were reasonably filial. She had never endured great hardship or suffered terribly. So why had she never been satisfied? Was it because she and her husband had grown further and further apart? Because her three children resented her for not treating th 219.3kFavorites575.6kClicks/ch1.2MGifts

   Curator note

   Null

3. 3 卷 The Grind King of the 1990s 卷王的九零年代 Nine Purple九紫Romance1.6M WordsCompleted [Coming next: Fighting for Everything in Showbiz. Please add it to your reading list, everyone~! Blurb: Zhang Ruilin arrives in the year 2006 in a parallel world, inhabiting a young woman who debuted through one of the earliest talent shows. She brings along the Dreamina AI 10.0 Performing Arts System. The girl debuts in February, then gets targeted by a fabricated sex scandal in August, sending the whole internet into a frenzy. The public criticism and accusations from "authoritative" hosts, cu 107.3kFavorites263.4kClicks/ch606.7kGifts

   Curator note

   The beginning was pretty good, but the ending was a bit weak.

4. 4 八 In the 1980s, I Married the Neighbor, Old Wang 八零之改嫁隔壁老王 The Queen Is Not Home女王不在家Romance1.0M WordsCompleted Dongmai's husband was in poor health, but she didn't know that. She always thought things were just fine as they were. The demobilized soldier next door, Shen Lie, had just married. Before the wedding banquet was even over, his new bride was demanding a divorce. A crowd pushed Dongmai forward, saying she should try to talk the bride around. The bride said, “He's fierce, mean, and never talks, and he's dirt poor!” Dongmai braced herself and said, “Shen Lie earned commendations in the army and has 103.2kFavorites286.1kClicks/ch88.3kGifts

   Curator note

   Not bad

5. 5 我 I Never Expected to Make This Much Money 我真没想过赚这么多钱 Four Single Shop四单铺Romance698k WordsCompleted Ye Zhao, who has accepted fate and decided to lie flat as a human vegetable, transmigrates into a book. Her role: a cannon-fodder supporting female character, despised by her father and competing with her stepsister for affection... Ye Zhao sweeps the plot aside. Why fight for someone's favor? It's 1988, the economy is about to take off, and she's going to make her landlady dreams come true. With a single piece of young ginger, she pulls off a deal without putting up a cent and sets off on the 101.6kFavorites231.9kClicks/ch163.6kGifts

   Curator note

   Null

6. 6 重 Reborn to Strive 重生之奋斗 Jue Jue决绝Danmei (BL)902k WordsCompleted Shi Zhen spent half his life doing good deeds, and after his death, he donated all his worldly possessions. Perhaps Heaven took pity on him, because he was reborn in 1994. He had just come of age and was living hungry beneath a bridge, but none of his regrets had happened yet, and the person he loved most was still alive. A farming story about gradually building a better life after being reborn. Shi Zhen is the gong, Guan Baiyu is the shou, and both characters’ perspectives will be explored. T 68.8kFavorites134.7kClicks/ch130.8kGifts

   Curator note

   I read BL (Boys' Love) a long time ago.

7. 7 网 The Internet Star's King-of-Glory Red Packet Group 网红的王者红包群 Kids Love Candy小孩爱吃糖Romance663k WordsCompleted Popular streamer Su Lili is reborn and wakes up one month before the college entrance exam. A scrawny body like a stalk of hemp, a score too awful to look at, and a wallet as emaciated as her own frame. Su Lili wipes away her tears and picks up her textbook. The world is full of things that don't go your way, but life goes on. Besides, the King of Glory group that came with her rebirth seems to be pretty amazing. Congratulations, you got the permanent card for legs as long as Yu Ji's! Congratula 63.6kFavorites203.6kClicks/ch170.9kGifts

   Curator note

   I watched it before.

8. 8 重 Reborn at the Start of My Career 重生回到刚就业时 Glutinous Rice Crystal Cake糯米水晶糕Romance2.5M WordsCompleted After waking from a deep sleep, Lu Nan finds herself back at the moment she has just received her college diploma. Exhausted by all the striving in her previous life, she decides to buy a house as soon as possible. Looking at the email telling her she passed the interview, Lu Nan decides to slack off and take it easy. Unexpectedly, with a mindset and life experience so different from before, she still finds herself getting caught up in the rat race without realizing it, setting out on the path t 63.3kFavorites114.5kClicks/ch582.1kGifts

   Curator note

   While some readers might find the writing style a bit dry, this piece is packed with valuable insights. This demonstrates the author's genuine experience and knowledge, setting them apart from those who rely on mere imagination. I believe this author has a successful career in real life; they must have worked in a related industry, otherwise, their writing wouldn't be so authentic.

9. 9 换 My Sister Swapped into Marriage, and I Was Reborn [The 1980s] 换亲姐姐重生了[八零] Red Leaves Like Fire红叶似火Romance1.4M WordsCompleted In her previous life, Ye Man was a devoted daughter and a loving sister. When her younger brother got a classmate pregnant and the girl's family demanded an exchange marriage, Ye Man agreed through tears to keep him out of prison. Her parents said, "San Ni, you're such a good daughter to us!" Her brother said, "I'll remember my third sister's kindness for the rest of my life." But when she was abused and beaten by her husband, they said lightly, "Men are like that. It's normal for them to have a 56.9kFavorites177.7kClicks/ch94.8kGifts

   Curator note

   The female lead's career is thriving.

10. 10 我 My Mom Was a Nouveau Riche [The 1990s] 我妈是暴发户[九零] Yi Nan Suyi易楠苏伊Romance1.3M WordsCompleted Note: The author has revised the plot several times, so there are many discrepancies with pirated sites. The Jinjiang version is authoritative. Blurb: Su Yimo, a small-town student who spent twelve years studying hard, finally achieved financial freedom. Before she could enjoy it, she transmigrated overnight to the 1990s, becoming a pampered only child whose parents both had stable jobs. Su Yimo planned to lie flat. Who knew the factory was about to go bankrupt?!!! There was no way she was g 43.9kFavorites119.1kClicks/ch69.5kGifts

    Curator note

    This story used to be called something like "Swiping the Whole Family to Become the Richest" or something like that. Anyway, it's about a girl who initially didn't want to work hard and wanted to be a rich kid, so she tried to swindle her parents. But in the end, she ended up swindling herself as well.

11. 11 穿 Back to Before My Whole Family Lost Their Jobs in the 1990s 穿回九零全家失业前 Clear Ripples, Bright Moon清澜皓月Romance3.6M WordsCompleted Li Xia's eldest brother, sister-in-law, and second brother all work at the paper mill. Her second sister-in-law is a sales clerk at the supply and marketing cooperative. After graduating from high school, Li Xia also joined the mill as a technician. The work is easy, and the commute is short. Her father is a retired accountant at the mill, and all his children found work nearby. In the 1960s and 70s, they were living the dream. By the 1990s, the whole family had been laid off, turning their sto 39.8kFavorites131.3kClicks/ch358.1kGifts

    Curator note

    Null

12. 12 八 One of a Kind in the 1980s 八零年代一只独秀 Dao Er刀尔Romance755k WordsCompleted Serial novel: The First Martial Arts School of the Apocalypse, also known as The Great Migration of the Apocalypse. A post-apocalyptic survival story about fleeing through the wilderness. Come check it out. A Lone Blossom: Synopsis The middle school in town has already started classes. Zhou Ziqing is covered in bruises, old wounds not yet healed before new ones appear. She isn't allowed to go to school. Every day she works in the fields, does laundry, and cooks. Her mother ran off with someone, 39.5kFavorites121.5kClicks/ch61.2kGifts

    Curator note

    In this author's stories, the female protagonists all come from unhappy families. Therefore, their personalities are often sharp, like hedgehogs.

13. 13 女 The Heroine's Only Goal Is Making Money [The 1980s] 女主一心搞钱[八零] Clear Ripples, Bright Moon清澜皓月Romance4.1M WordsCompleted After liberation, Cheng Lan's grandfather took off his military uniform and returned to his hometown to farm. Later, she was entrusted to the care of Commander Lin, her grandfather's old comrade-in-arms. At first, she just wanted to make money by riding the wave of reform and opening up, so she could live well despite being dependent on others. Gradually, she discovered all the joys of making money... Theme: Knowledge changes lives, and hard work creates the future 35.5kFavorites137.3kClicks/ch157.1kGifts

    Curator note

    The biggest advantage of this author is that they write very long articles. Actually, I don't like reading short stories about starting a business, although there are some on this reading list, but I only read them when I was out of other options. I think that if you really want to build a business, you simply can't develop it without writing long articles. Short stories, in fact, only briefly touch upon many aspects of the business.

14. 14 七 A Ten-Thousand-Yuan Household in the Seventies 七零年代万元户 Chi Mo池陌Romance955k WordsCompleted Lin Chuyu opens her eyes and finds herself reborn in 1976. Her family is so poor they don't even have matches. You need fabric coupons to buy cloth, meat coupons to buy meat, and industrial coupons to buy tea… How is anyone supposed to live like this? Life is hard, but you still need to have dreams. So first, she decides to become a millionaire! Pairing: rugged soldier older brother x ambitious, top-student heroine I'm on Weibo! Come find me and say hi! Theme: 29.5kFavorites160.2kClicks/ch45kGifts

    Curator note

    I watched it before.

15. 15 八 The Girl Who Had a Child Beyond the Quota in the 1980s 八零年代超生女 Dao Er刀尔Romance931k WordsCompleted Currently serializing: My End-of-the-World Martial Arts Academy, also known as The Great Migration at the End of the World. A story of fleeing through the wilderness and surviving the apocalypse. Come take a look. Introduction to The Superfluous Daughter of the 1980s: Tang Qiqi was born into the Tang family in Tangjia Village, where daughters were a dime a dozen. She had six older sisters, and when she was born, no one even bothered to g 27.9kFavorites154.9kClicks/ch28kGifts

    Curator note

    Null

16. 16 回 Back to the Night Before We Eloped 回到私奔前夜 Nine Purple九紫Romance602k WordsCompleted One night before bed, Chu Chaoyang read a novel. To her surprise, the CEO's ex-girlfriend in it had the same name as her. The ex-girlfriend had fair skin, a beautiful face, a slim waist, and long legs. Her ending, however, was not so good. First she was disgraced, then her family was ruined. She never expected to wake up and find herself transformed into the CEO's ex-girlfriend. Chu Chaoyang was horrified. "Mr. CEO, yo 26.1kFavorites168.4kClicks/ch24kGifts

    Curator note

    I watched it before.

17. 17 一 A Zhaodi Reborn 一个招娣的重生 Fire-Bathed Panda浴火小熊猫Romance787k WordsCompleted Song Zhaodi has always been pretty content. She thinks her life has turned out all right: not as good as some, but better than others. She hasn't had any serious illnesses, though she's always had one minor ailment or another. Her features are regular, though an employer three years older than her calls her "Auntie Song." But after two or three decades of hard work, this country girl finally has a home of her own in the city, even if she still has twenty years of mortgage payments left. She has 24.2kFavorites57.7kClicks/ch62.5kGifts

    Curator note

    This is a really good article. The transformation of the "Zhao Di" girls.

18. 18 穷 Third-Generation Pauper and Second-Generation Millionaire 穷三代和富二代 The Moon Grows Colder月渐寒Romance783k WordsCompleted The female lead is a tough, street-smart schemer who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. The male lead seems gentle on the surface, but is cold-hearted underneath. He schemes at every turn in the first half, then spends the second half desperately trying to win her back. A slum girl with an astonishing talent for making money grows so quickly under the careful guidance of an expert that she leaves everyone speechless. "Sure, love is supposed to go both ways, but using me and then running 22.6kFavorites92kClicks/ch30.2kGifts

    Curator note

    The female lead is so hardworking and intelligent; I initially thought she'd have a perfect comeback later on, but it turns out she still needs the male lead's help. But that's understandable; not many ordinary people can achieve such a turnaround. It still comes down to connections.

19. 19 重 Reborn in the Nineties: A Mother Must Stand Strong 重生九零之为母当自强 Golden-Faced Buddha金面佛Romance2.6M WordsCompleted Coming next: I Got Rich After My Divorce. One-line summary: The daily life of an Eighties single mom raising kids and making a fortune. Chen Fengxia died. She worked her whole life, and spent it being a good wife and mother, yet when she was on her deathbed, she was estranged from her husband and children. When she opened her eyes again, it was 1996. Her two children were crying and making a fuss, and her husband had walked off as soon as he finished eating. Looking at their cramped rental in 19.5kFavorites80.4kClicks/ch113.4kGifts

    Curator note

    I recommend this article. Besides Jin Yong's consistently high-quality writing, I especially love the male and female protagonists. Many entrepreneurship and wealth-creation stories simply feature the female lead making a fortune and marrying a good husband. However, the protagonists in this article have a strong sense of social responsibility. In her previous life, the female lead was a migrant worker, so after her rebirth, she not only earns money herself but also helps the migrant workers around her improve their lives, even helping them buy houses and settle down, no longer worrying about their children's schooling. Meanwhile, her husband has been consistently helping impoverished villages escape poverty.

20. 20 满 Max-Level Rich Lady, Living It Up in the 1990s 满级富婆，潇洒九零 Golden-Faced Buddha金面佛Romance4.3M WordsCompleted Wang Xiao, a wealthy woman with everything maxed out, transmigrates into a novel. Her namesake, a supporting female character, spends her entire life as a stepmother. To be a good stepmother, she gives up her career and devotes herself completely to her family, even choosing not to have children of her own. Then the biological mother returns in triumph, her husband gazes at his old flame with shining eyes, and her stepdaughter says that this woman is her real mother after all. The supporting 18.8kFavorites56.8kClicks/ch98.3kGifts

    Curator note

    This is typical of Jin Da's work. The female protagonist not only earns money herself, but also helps the city and province develop, leading to economic growth in her hometown and other areas affected by her business, and significantly improving the living standards of the local people. The author's female protagonists consistently demonstrate great vision.

21. 21 八 The Female Tycoon of the Eighties 八零年代女首富 Golden-Faced Buddha金面佛Romance2.8M WordsCompleted Next up: My Night School Teacher in the Seventies. In one sentence: My students are big shots, and so am I. Complete, so dive in without worry. Also known as: The Spicy Mom's Wealth-Building Days in the Eighties; I Was Beaten to Death by My Husband, Then Reborn; Men Only Slow Down My Money-Making. The story focuses mainly on her career, with everyday life as a secondary thread. Her daughter died young, her son was cold and distant, and her husband beat her. After her fifth failed attempt to div 16.2kFavorites52.4kClicks/ch69.9kGifts

    Curator note

    Jin Yong's works are all very good, especially his career-themed novels, but for some reason, compared to other so-called masters of historical fiction, he receives far fewer recommendations. Is it because he doesn't write formulaic stories? Here, I'll explain why I recommend Jin Yong. ①This isn't one of those so-called career-oriented novels where the female protagonist constantly sells food or designs and sells clothes. It seems like she was reborn, and now she can be a chef and a designer. ② Reading Jin Yong's novels about starting a business in that era truly gives you a much better understanding of that time. Jin Yong consulted a lot of materials and wrote very realistically, unlike some novels that only have a superficial understanding and then make up stories, as if being reborn in the 1980s would make you rich easily. ③ Jin Yong's female protagonists are all exceptionally beautiful! They never remarry after divorce, even if they have a steady male partner! Like many period dramas, they all marry military officers, soldiers, or children of high-ranking officials, and they all follow the "beautiful wife" route. Purely a tale of pampered wives.

22. 22 八 The Post-80s Entrepreneurial Journey 八零后创业记 Clear Ripples, Bright Moon清澜皓月Romance2.6M WordsCompleted For the first twenty-two years of her life, Qin Ge followed the same well-worn path as everyone her age: school, exams, and further education. After graduating from university at twenty-two, she found that jobs were no longer assigned to graduates and she had to find work on her own. She faced every challenge the post-80s generation had to deal with: a difficult job market, soaring housing prices... With no one to rely on, she could only depend on herself, and built a life that truly flourished. 16.2kFavorites47.8kClicks/ch86.1kGifts

    Curator note

    Null

23. 23 重 Back to 1998 重回1998 Innocent Blue天真蓝Romance576k WordsCompleted [Complete] As Lin Qing slipped down the mountain, she thought back over her life. At eighteen, she received her university acceptance letter, but never went to college. She was determined to make a fortune and quickly make something of herself, just to show her deadbeat father, who had abandoned her mother and her, what he had missed. By the time she finally achieved financial freedom, she looked back and found that her mother had grown old and her younger sister had changed. Lin Qing bought 15.7kFavorites47.5kClicks/ch11.1kGifts

    Curator note

    The initial startup phase went quite well.

24. 24 八 Famous at a Young Age in the 1980s 八零年代年少成名 Dao Er刀尔Romance818k WordsCompleted (A friendly reminder: Please read the author's notes below.) Blurb: Zhou Fangyuan was abandoned as soon as she was born. The honest, timid Zhou Jinshan found her by the roadside. Later, he was framed for theft and hanged himself at home. Before he died, he told the child about her origins. Zhou Fangyuan was in third grade at the time. From then on, she was all alone, with only a collapsed courtyard wall and a dilapidated old house. (This is the story of an abandoned baby with nothing, who makes 15.3kFavorites31.1kClicks/ch20.3kGifts

    Curator note

    Null

25. 25 穿 Returning to the 1980s to Perform Peking Opera 穿回八十年代搞京剧 Su Fangying苏放英Romance413k WordsCompleted The 1980s were the last glorious era of Peking opera. Back then, the masters who had weathered the storms were still alive and could still take the stage in full costume and makeup. Sheng Muhuai was watching videos of the masters on Bilibili, lamenting that their splendor was gone, when she suddenly transmigrated. She became an abandoned baby, picked up by an old gatekeeper at a small-town Peking opera troupe. Poor little thing. She never expected the old man to be the last famous opera perform 14.5kFavorites53.4kClicks/ch14.6kGifts

    Curator note

    I watched it before.

26. 26 重 Reborn in 1982 重生一九八二 Sweet Biscuit甜饼Romance1.1M WordsCompleted Shu Yu was knocked back to 1982 by a brick. She had only one simple goal. Not to make a billion, but to have all her loved ones return to her side. Recommended completed works by the author: Gold Rush in the Seventies and Fusu Begs to Survive Every Day Currently updating: Parallel World Movers Theme: 6.3kFavorites35.5kClicks/ch8.9kGifts

    Curator note

    Good

27. 27 一 Still the Queen, Still a Grade-School Kid 一姐还是小学鸡 Golden-Faced Buddha金面佛Romance1.4M WordsCompleted New book: The Transmigrated Book's Female Side Character Won't Raise Someone Else's Child Also known as The Drama Queen Overachiever in the Nineties Wang Xiao transmigrated into a novel. The side character with the same name spent her whole life as a stepmother. To be a good stepmother, she gave up her career and devoted herself entirely to the family. She didn't even have children of her own. Then the children's real mother returned in glory, her husband gazed at his old flame with shining eyes 5.7kFavorites21.8kClicks/ch26.7kGifts

    Curator note

    This story is truly excellent. Don't let the first thirty or forty chapters, depicting the heroine's tragic childhood, put you off. After that initial phase, the heroine and her family's lives improve steadily, starting with a small business. Unfortunately, the story hasn't been very popular, and the author seems to have abandoned the later parts of the story. Honestly, anyone who's read it wants to continue. We've even advised the author to either start over and continue writing.

28. 28 人 In the Nineties, Please Don't Bother Me While I'm Working 人在九零，打工勿扰 Lin Xixi林昔昔Romance220k WordsCompleted My next novel: Rise to Fame in the 2010s After waking up, Lin Yuqiu, who had been living the good life, found herself reborn at eighteen. That was the year the uncle she had called Dad for ten years sent her back to her biological father's home. That was the year her biological parents saw her as a burden and arranged for her to marry a man who would later abuse her. Given another chance, she chose to avoid the engagement and head south to find work. She hadn't had much ambition. She just want 5.3kFavorites12.8kClicks/ch3kGifts

    Curator note

    Good

29. 29 人 Running Wild in the Mortal World 人间撒野 Tianya Brand Caocao天涯牌草草Romance376k WordsCompleted [New quick transmigration novel, The Wicked Supporting Female Character Enters a Torture Novel, now open for preorders!] [New Novel Blurb] After Shen Yan is bound to a System, she learns that she's the fake heiress in a real-versus-fake heiress story, and the wicked supporting female character with the most screen time. From then on, she takes the heroine's identity, steals her family fortune, and seduces her fiance. Since s 4.2kFavorites12kClicks/ch906Gifts

    Curator note

    I don't really like the romantic storyline.

30. 30 奋 Striving Through the Millennium Years 奋斗在千禧年代 Lan Gui兰桂Romance268k WordsCompleted In 2000, the Greater Bay Area’s economy was booming, and many people who went into business rose from poverty to wealth. Du Lin gave up a comfortable, secure life and left a small county in Northeast China to start a business in Shenzhen on her own. People said she was crazy and ungrateful. She turned down the wonderful jobs and matches they found for her, and did nothing but chase unrealistic schemes 3.3kFavorites8kClicks/ch2kGifts

    Curator note

    Good

31. 31 九 A Thorny Bloom in the Nineties 九零之荆棘生花 Night Brocade Robe夜锦衣No CP2.3M WordsCompleted Coming soon: the romance novel Flowers in Full Bloom and the no-romance horror novel Do You Want to Take Me Home? Their blurbs are at the bottom or in my author's column. Blurb: Taking another path through life, with thorns everywhere. This is the story of an ordinary person who is unexpectedly reborn. See how a young girl takes on the world with nothing but her bare hands. Nearly forty-year-old Yang Xiaolian is unexpectedly reborn into her elementary school 1.9kFavorites5.1kClicks/ch7.2kGifts

    Curator note

    I gave it three stars because the female lead was trying so hard to lead her parents away from the leeches in their hometown. I thought she was almost there, but then her father was tricked by her grandfather and still remained a devoted son. I think the female lead eventually gave up and stopped caring about her father and the family's affairs. So, this story was a bit frustrating to read.

Other lists with Becoming the Ex-Wife of a Daughter-Doting Tycoon