Novels like Dongguan: My Years as a Migrant Worker
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Dongguan: My Years as a Migrant Worker, best match first.
- 1 A Cage of Desire 欲望牢笼 Based on true events, this story follows Li Nan, who has long struggled with the burdens of her family of origin. After unexpectedly having her material desires fulfilled time and again, she gradually loses herself and becomes increasingly consumed by greed, until her bubble finally bursts and she plummets to rock bottom overnight. Li Nan will pay a heavy price for the mistakes she has made, and a long journey of redemption begins. —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 2 My Girlfriend Is All Natural 我的女友纯天然 By the stream, beneath a big tree, I stand at the peak of the mountain, pondering what love is. Is it the last cigarette, smoked down to the end? Or a flame that can never quite catch fire? I pray, yearn, and search in my heart for the most beautiful scene and the purest, most natural feeling. 46Reads5.8Score—Shelves
- 3 My Five Years as a Drifter in Guangzhou 广漂的那五年 A detailed look at the five years after college graduation, spent struggling to make a living in the bustling city of Guangzhou. How did a complete novice gradually grow stronger, step by step? As we make our way along the paths of love and career, each of us has a story to tell... After five years of weathering life's hardships, we'll grow stronger at last! It's time to turn the tables!!! A new author with a new book: My Five Years Drifting in Guangzhou. I've got a story. 211Reads8.5Score—Shelves
- 4 I Really Didn't Mean to Marry the Village Chief's Daughter 我真没想娶村长女儿啊 Also known as “A Reversal of Fortune from the Bottom of Society.” I grew up depending on my mother, and everyone said I was destined to marry a divorced woman. But I refuse to accept that, so I absolutely will not agree to this marriage! 510Reads7.5Score—Shelves
- 5 Fitness Legend: Building Muscle, Becoming King 健身传奇，逐肌成王 Jiang Mo, an internet-addicted young man crushed by life, finally awakens the Bodybuilding System! From a scrawny gaming addict to the boss of the gym, from getting chased around by Scarface to taking down the entire criminal underworld! He forms a team with the gym's five beauties, crushes injustice with muscle, and sweats his way to the top! This is a high-octane bodybuilding legend about a weakling beating the odds, chasing his dreams one muscle at a time, punching bullies and kicking dirtbag 6Reads—Score—Shelves
- 6 Stranded on a Deserted Island with a Flight Attendant 与空姐孤岛求生 Life is an unknown and wondrous journey. You never know whether tomorrow or the unexpected will come first. After a plane crash, Wang Dong survives and ends up stranded on a deserted island with a flight attendant. Was this a blessing in disguise? Sometimes life is remarkably tenacious. Perhaps each of us is fighting for our life in our own way. Follow them as they begin a grueling struggle to survive on a deserted island… 3.1kReads8.8Score308Shelves
- 7 The Years I Spent as a Casanova 我当情圣那些年 A Pickup Artist's Rules: 1. Don't rush into a relationship. Be friends first, and see whether her friends are prettier than she is. 2. Keep women out of your heart, not out of your life. 3. Look a woman in the eyes first. If she isn't looking at you, look at her legs. 4. If a woman can affect your thoughts, don't hesitate: leave her. Xu Ling is a broke 26-year-old standing at a crossroads in life. Career? Women? Love? His ex? How should he choose? (Urban + realistic + funny + heartwarming + roma 46Reads—Score—Shelves
- 8 My Future Superstar Roommate 我的未来大歌星室友 [Healing + Everyday Life + Sweet Romance + No Major Angst + Not a Power Fantasy] A sweet first love, a playful tenant, and a gentle older sister. The most useless male lead is mired in emotional turmoil, finding redemption and healing step by step in a sweet yet fulfilling romance. Perhaps one day in the future, you’ll climb that rugged yet dazzling island, follow the path to the lighthouse, and find the soul that belongs to you. When that day comes, remember to bring me along. I want to wear a 184Reads8.2Score—Shelves
- 9 Lover with a Pure Heart 素心恋人 You’re the person I love most. For you, I could deceive anyone in the world, even myself. That’s how desperately I love you. Even if you have to lie to me, please keep it up a little longer, and make the lie a little more convincing... 289Reads7.5Score—Shelves
- 10 My Pure and Beautiful Heiress 我的清纯大小姐 The hardest things to forget are the ones you never thought about, yet can never forget! A car accident during the summer before my senior year of high school left me with amnesia. To escape my confusion, I boarded a train to Lhasa alone. I thought it would be an ordinary trip, but then I met a girl on the train who would heal me for the rest of my life... This is the story of a lost boy with amnesia searching for redemption, and finding love during his four years at university. 3Reads8.2Score—Shelves
- 11 Spring Blossoms, Autumn Fades 春花秋逝 (Not a wish-fulfillment story, no transmigration, realistic, about an ordinary person struggling to survive in the cracks. Don’t read if that’s not your thing.) Since you all want to kill me, I’ll start by eloping with your daughters!! 588Reads8.3Score—Shelves
- 12 Reborn in 1995: My Years in Dongguan 重生九五：我在东莞那几年 Lin Xueqiong was reborn in 1995. Just after turning 18, she became a young migrant worker heading south to Dongguan. In her previous life, she worked as a factory hand, putting in 13 hours a day and getting only half a day off each month, which she used to save her wages. With a second chance at life, she had a different starting point: she would earn 6,000 yuan a month and buy a home in Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou within a year. 622Reads5.5Score—Shelves
- 13 Flowers Bloom in the Clouds 云展花开 Amid the bustle and desire of a prosperous city, a gripping tale begins. This book takes you through the twists and turns of romance, the high stakes of business warfare, the complexity of human nature, and the arduous struggle to cross the barriers between social classes. Leng Hao is a mysterious, resolute man who commands the business world, yet hides a past no one knows. Cui Xinyi is beautiful and intelligent, and her arrival is like a ray of light entering Leng Hao’s world. Their love sways 142Reads7.3Score—Shelves
- 14 Drifting in Shenzhen 深漂 The brash young Lin Qiang comes to Shenzhen for the first time and happens upon Huaqiangbei. The gears of fate begin to turn for Zhang Ruoying, a female business owner… At the end of 2003, college student Lin Qiang and his girlfriend were facing their graduation internships. She went to Dongguan, while Lin Qiang headed to Shenzhen to build a career, and they gradually drifted apart. After their breakup, Lin Qiang gained a whole new understanding of relationships between men and women. In Shenz 8Reads—Score—Shelves
- 15 Shenzhen: The Wave Breaker 深圳，破浪者 This story pays tribute to the grand vision of “Made in China 2025,” with its plans for breakthroughs in new energy, smart cockpits, chips, and other fields. It also salutes all the brave souls on the road to starting their own businesses! 🫡🫡🫡 The sequel to "Shenzhen Drifter", "Riding the Waves": In 2010 Shenzhen, Gao'e Capital invests in Yingke Navigation Group, which has only just emerged from the financial crisis. Founder Lin Qiang feels that capital has stripped him of his power, so he reso 61Reads—Score—Shelves
- 16 Diary of a Player: The Road to Lying Flat and Getting Rich 海王日记：躺平暴富之路 [No System] [Urban Farming] [Comeback] This story is adapted from real events and may contain some exaggerated descriptions. The characters do not possess any supernatural abilities, so please read with that in mind. In just a few short years, 24-year-old Ming Xi suffered the deaths of both parents and was betrayed by his girlfriend... But life did not break him. Instead, he chose to live differently. There was no way he was going to keep working. He resolutely quit his rotating three-shift job, 152Reads8.0Score—Shelves
- 17 Tales of the Special Economic Zone 特区往事 Yang Nan lost his job after taking the blame for his boss's affair and getting found out by the boss's wife. In the women's restroom at a job fair, he “met” the female writer Ran Yue. After that, the two went through a series of hilarious yet deeply moving escapades. However, Ran Yue hadn't come to Shenzhen to work for the reason she claimed, to “experience life and hone her craft.” She was there to find her first love: a young street tough who had fiercely protected her when she was bullied at 610Reads9.1Score105Shelves
- 18 Teacher, Can We Be Together? 老师，我们能在一起吗？ Liang Chen, a loser about to graduate from college, is harassed relentlessly by a group of beautiful women. The only one he truly loves is Teacher Lin Wenfang. But after she is abused by a scumbag, Teacher Lin gets drawn into Liang Chen's love life and can't pull herself free... 86Reads—Score—Shelves
- 19 Wine and Beauty Are Irresistible 酒色撩人 Urban Life + Romance + Flirtation + Ex-Girlfriend Regrets It + One Female Lead (Not a wish-fulfillment story. No formulaic tropes, plot-focused, and slow-paced. Read with caution if that’s not your thing!) Money gives a man courage, and only a man with courage dares to chase women. A poor young man has a one-night stand and unexpectedly becomes a father. He then falls in love with a rich heiress. And so begins a hilarious, heartwarming tale! 380Reads8.6Score—Shelves
- 20 Sleepless Tonight 今晚无眠 I woke up to find myself married, with a beautiful wife and two daughters. But then my wife made me this request... 92Reads8.2Score—Shelves
- 21 Romance on the Construction Site 工地韵事 Ten years working on construction sites not only enriched my résumé, but also broadened my horizons. Among the many stories I witnessed were romances between men and women, including plenty of moving, devoted relationships worthy of praise. There were young couples who drifted apart, and disabled husbands whose wives never abandoned them. Some stayed faithful for years, only to see everything fall apart in a single day. A young man who had wandered aimlessly for more than twenty years finally fo 175Reads—Score—Shelves
- 22 My Older, Alluring Ex-Wife 我的御姐前妻 [Mature women in their forties + Men in their forties + Marriage and relationships + Striving and business rivalries + Showing off and face-slapping + Heartbreaking romance] Recommended for readers over twenty-five. The story follows a male protagonist who has had two wives: one divorced him, and the other died. A senior company executive returning to single life, he never expected to become a hot commodity among women. In this society, forbidden relationships and extravagant lifestyles are pain 148Reads—Score—Shelves
- 23 A Husband’s Punishment 丈夫的惩罚 The heroine was a beautiful, fair-skinned woman from a family of officials, with an outstanding husband. But her husband mistakenly believed she had cheated on him and chose to take revenge. As time passes, they both grow into mature, accomplished people, yet their relationship remains full of twists and turns, with no end in sight. The heroine can never let go of this love. What fate will the two of them ultimately meet… 593Reads5.4Score—Shelves
- 24 King of the Reverse Scales 逆鳞之王 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 25 Dongguan Doesn't Believe in Tears: My Love Life as a Migrant Worker 东莞不相信眼泪，我的打工情史 [This novel has two main parts: factory romance and cultivation through the fortunes of nine sons] After graduating from university, I joined an electronics factory and became a wage laborer. I had a bachelor’s degree, was a management trainee, and was pretty handsome. The factory girls fought each other over me. A month later, the factory’s prettiest girl, my girlfriend, suddenly told me she was pregnant. I faced the biggest decision of my life: take responsibility, or choose my own future? In 261Reads8.6Score—Shelves
- 26 My Bankrupt Boss 我的破产女上司 [Urban slice of life] [Subtle emotions] [Modern romance] [Workplace and marriage] [One heroine] She was once the beautiful owner of an advertising agency, but in a single day she hit rock bottom. He went from an unremarkable couch potato to her most steadfast support. Life taught them how to go from being in love to finding peace together. With a small bracelet, she revealed how much she cared and how insecure she felt. After weathering the storm, they heal each other and grow together, little 304Reads—Score101Shelves
- 27 Life as a Neighbor to a Flight Attendant 和空姐做邻居的日子 (A realistic story with sweetness and heartbreak, vivid descriptions, explicit writing, and multiple heroines.) Five years after Chen Linfeng broke up with his first love, they meet again. She is now a cold, aloof female CEO. After five years as a low-ranking clerk, he is finally on the verge of promotion, but someone sets him up using a fake flight attendant, nearly ruining his career. After getting out, he soon meets a real flight attendant, a beautiful, aloof, wealthy woman who has just moved 443Reads8.4Score—Shelves
- 28 Xiaohuan in Beijing 小寰在北京 [Urban Life + Entrepreneurship + No Saintly Heroine + No Simping + No Idiocy + Realistic + Humor + Intelligence] Xiaohuan in Beijing is a full-length novel. The novel tells the story of Zhao Xiaohuan, a man born in 1991, as he works and lives in Beijing. After graduating from university, he worked for two years in his hometown of Shenyang, but he never forgot the boast he had made in college: that he would become the richest man in the world. However, reality left him increasingly dispirited, an 3Reads—Score—Shelves
- 29 Fallen into the Mortal World 坠落红尘间 His father is critically ill, and she can’t scrape together the money to save him. A poor college girl grits her teeth and steps into the late-night world of KTV! She masks her youth with cigarettes and alcohol, trading her dignity for medical bills. Can she make it to the end of this road? Will she succumb to the temptations of the neon lights? 78Reads—Score—Shelves
- 30 Tides of Canton 粤海沉浮 [Plot + Romance + Office Life + Entrepreneurship + Striving + Romantic Encounters + Reflections on Life] It’s hard to teach people through reason. But one hard lesson from life can make them see the light. After his girlfriend cheats on him, Shen Linfeng resolutely gives up his job back home and heads to Shenzhen to make a life for himself. As he rides the ups and downs there, he weathers countless storms at work and in business, gradually breaking through his own limitations and taking unconven 2.1kReads8.1Score182Shelves
- 31 A Diao 阿刁 My name is A Diao. I have no parents, and I don't know when I was born. I depend on the blind Lin Aiyun, and in my life she plays the role of a mother. But she never lets me call her Mom. Because when I came into her life, she had already lost her husband, and then she lost her son too... 37Reads8.8Score—Shelves
- 32 The Rules of Love for Urban Men and Women 都市男女的恋爱法则 Gu Ziyi: An ENFP woman, sweet and innocent-looking on the outside, but sharp-tongued and fiery by nature. When she falls in love, she never thinks about the consequences and always ends up being taken advantage of. Though every relationship has ended in failure, she remains a romantic who believes in love. Will the man she meets this time turn out to be a good one…? Gao Yingzhen: A typical ISFJ man who finds it hard to open up, but once he lets someone into his heart, he holds nothing back. Bor 3Reads—Score—Shelves
- 33 Working in Dongguan: Starting Out as a Footwasher 东莞打工：从洗脚做起 After my girlfriend hooked up with a short, rich, and ugly guy, I was so disheartened that I decided to become a male escort. At the club, I met all kinds of female clients and became entangled with them in relationships, some more serious than others. 181Reads9.1Score—Shelves
- 34 Lost in Marriage: The Stranger in My Bed 婚姻迷途，枕边的陌生人 It had started out as an ordinary day. After finishing his work at the office, he came home early. His wedding anniversary with his wife was just a few days away, and he planned to buy her some gifts and surprise her. Hehe... 158Reads5.8Score—Shelves
- 35 Loving You More and More 越来越爱 Goodbye may mean never seeing you again. In my dreams of endless years of war, I always see you, alone on the cliff; Half of it is longing, half of it is love, and the more I long, the more I love. In the blink of an eye, ten years have passed. Everything has changed, and I have returned… [Lucky to have met you, grateful our paths crossed, and thankful for your companionship all this way.] 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 36 What Female CEO? That’s My Wife! 什么女总裁？那是我老婆！ [Female CEO] + [Older woman-younger man romance] + [Everyday urban life] Surely you don’t have to give up money just to preserve a little dignity? Lu Yang is a college senior struggling to find a job. He becomes assistant to female CEO Song Siyu. As soon as he joins the company, he gets caught up in a power struggle. Lu Yang and Song Siyu fight side by side and win. Their feelings for each other slowly grow... 57Reads—Score—Shelves
- 37 Hooked on Acupressure 点穴成瘾 A contemporary urban political novel. It may suddenly bring tears to your eyes, then make you burst out laughing. You’ll feel indignant on behalf of the characters and so frustrated your chest aches, only for a sudden twist to lift your spirits. The plot is a thrilling roller-coaster ride. Everything in this story comes from what we see, hear, experience, and realize in real life. You’ll love it! 139Reads6.3Score—Shelves
- 38 Sister Meng of Guancheng 莞城孟姐 [Turn of the century + Dongguan City + multiple women] That year, I headed south to find work. My goal was to earn enough to build a house back home, marry a wife, and have a chubby little boy. Sister Meng said that a real man should make a name for himself, keep several women by his side, and return home in glory. So I moved from one wealthy woman to another, searching for a way to climb my way up in life. 3kReads7.4Score175Shelves
- 39 Love Affairs in the Big City 大城情事 After my girlfriend and my best friend gave me a spectacular set of horns, I gritted my teeth and left my small town to make it in the big city. But as soon as I arrived at my new company, my coworkers started ostracizing me and setting me up... The big city is no paradise! It's a world of its own, full of all kinds of people and endless deception! As a nobody, I had to start out as a lowly network administrator, stumbling along until I finally built a small business of my own! But she was an ex 1.5kReads8.3Score134Shelves
- 40 I Want So Badly to Love This World 好想爱这个世界 (The style of The Tenants + urban tragic romance + realism + multiple female love interests + ensemble cast + bad ending + open ending) Life and death to the left, parting to the right. Gu Bei met several girls in his life. One clutched a marble for eight years, then crouched by a barbecue stall and grinned at him. “I was afraid you’d be lonely.” One left him a book before the train pulled away and said, “If one day you don’t want to wait anymore, you can come find me.” One stayed by his sid 34Reads—Score—Shelves
- 41 The River at the Village Entrance 村口那条河 I once thought this river would flow forever, until that summer, when it carried away every secret and brought new stories in their place. 6Reads—Score—Shelves
- 42 My Lover Is a Stock 我的情人是股票 A young teacher from a small town is dumped by the belle of Huilong Bay. Then, after a car accident nearly kills him, he unexpectedly gets the chance to travel to Gui Province on business. A twist of fate brings him to the capital-frenzied Yinhai Bay, where he earns the first fortune of his life. From then on, he begins to play the pig to eat the tiger, crossing oceans and making his way through the stock and futures markets on the road to wealth... 1.6kReads8.3Score104Shelves
- 43 My Beijing Girl 我的北京姑娘 If you love someone, take them to Beijing. It is the heart of the country, where they can see all the splendor the world has to offer... If you hate someone, leave them in Beijing. That city is cold enough for them to hide every burden in their heart… I reveled in the city's splendor at night, never understanding why anyone would stay in Beijing. After seven years, my relationship fell apart, and only then did I begin to see that I had nothing. Her arrival saved me. She was the kindest girl 534Reads7.7Score101Shelves
- 44 Waiting for the Wind in Guangzhou 羊城等风来 (This is not a cuckold story.) (This is not a wish-fulfillment story.) My childhood sweetheart, whom I’d been married to for a year, divorced me and made me take the blame for the breakup! I let you fly free, and I’ll bear the pain! Then a mysterious young girl barged into my life. From that moment on, the wheels of fate began to turn, and I gradually fell into one trap and conspiracy after another. Can ordinary people really never defeat the authorities? 83Reads5.0Score—Shelves
- 45 My Stunning 27-Year-Old CEO 我的27岁倾世女总裁 Someone once asked, “What is the meaning of life?” I said, “The meaning of life is that you don’t need to go looking for its ‘meaning.’ We live in this dazzling, bewildering world, beneath oceans of stars and skies full of constellations. Meaning lies in the process of slowly beginning to shine.” Someone else asked, “What about love? What is it?” Love... might put out the light of your star, but someone will always come along to illuminate your world. My name is Zhou Dongli. Through my story, I’ 741Reads6.3Score—Shelves
- 46 Official Fortune: Soaring to the Top 官运：扶摇职上 When Chen Fu makes a delivery to his wife Luo Yao's shop, he unexpectedly sees something he shouldn't have. After a huge fight with his wife, he decides, for the sake of their marriage, to rethink his career. As he makes his way through the workplace, he gradually discovers a side of his wife he never knew existed... 200Reads5.9Score—Shelves
- 47 That Year, Because of the Campus Belle, I Ran Off to Guangdong to Become a Handsome Lad 那年因为校花，我跑路广东当靓仔 [Jianghu]+ [Workplace]+ [Romance]+ [No System]+ [Not reborn] [Based on the author’s real experiences working in Guangdong, this is a story about migrant workers in cities like Dongguan and Shenzhen. This is not a wish-fulfillment novel, so don’t read it if that’s not your thing!] In 1997, Zhang Zaiye, Li Yaocong, Jiang Xinyue, and others met while working summer jobs in Guangdong, and formed a deep friendship. At the time, Dongguan’s economy was growing at a breakneck pace. Workers poured in fr 7Reads—Score—Shelves
- 48 The Watcher in the Wheat Fields 麦苗田里的守望者 I'll never forget that rainy summer night. The rain had turned the village's dirt roads to mud. One step could sink you in up to your calves. Clutching half a candle, I hurried home, stumbling through the muck, my heart pounding like I had a rabid rabbit inside me. Mom had promised she'd be home before dark, but it was already nine o'clock. 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 49 The College Loser's Comeback 大学校渣逆袭记 Poor young Gao Xiaojian secretly loves Zhao Lusi, the daughter of the richest man in the country. At university, a moment of lust leads him to make a mistake, and he suffers relentless bullying from his wealthy classmates before fighting back. By sheer coincidence, he becomes the son-in-law handpicked by the richest man and unexpectedly inherits his fortune. He navigates the ups and downs of the business world and the tangled love and hatred of wealthy heiresses like Feng Yuanyuan, eventually ri —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 50 Working in Shenzhen: The Factory Belle Falls for Me 深圳打工：厂花爱上我 I’m a low-level temp worker in Shenzhen. After graduating from a prestigious university, I ended up working as a factory hand. Then I met the factory beauty, and my heart skipped a beat. 63Reads9.0Score—Shelves
