Novels like Shanghai People Eat Rice Porridge
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Shanghai People Eat Rice Porridge, best match first.
- 51 An Ordinary Person's Unordinary Journey Through Life 平凡人不甘平凡的人生路 An ordinary person’s life has its occasional ups and downs, but where does a life without guidance lead? After three years working in a factory, a twist of fate sends him into real estate brokerage! He grows immensely proud after enjoying some of the real estate boom. But after the tide goes out, how will he face the decline and deal with family, love, and friendship? This is your story, and it’s mine too. So I’ve heard... 10Reads—Score—14d adds
- 52 My Mother, Wang Juzhen 俺娘王菊珍 [Based on real life + hardship + historical era + the struggles and perseverance of ordinary people at the bottom of society] This is not a feel-good power fantasy. The protagonist of this book is my beloved and respected great-grandmother, a poor old woman who struggled through the surging tide of an era. Wang Juzhen never had an easy life. Her parents starved to death while fleeing famine, her own sister sold her for a mouthful of grain, and a landlord lusted after her. Only Wang Long gave her 109Reads—Score—14d adds
- 53 A Traveler in Years of Famine 荒年客 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 133Reads6.6Score10514d adds
- 54 Home on a Unicycle 独轮车上的家 The novel follows Liu Shouren and his family from the late 1970s to the present day. As society changes and the countryside is transformed, they weather a tumultuous journey. Through stories from in and around the village, it portrays the lives, resilience, struggles, and growth of countless ordinary rural families across China... 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 55 A Wounded Woman Doesn't Talk About Love 受伤女人不谈爱 She raises her husband’s mistress’s child! This is a story about a woman’s growth, inspired by many real-life stories. Wang Shengnan was born into a rural family that favored sons over daughters, and her mother named her Shengnan, meaning “to surpass men.” She started working as soon as she graduated from middle school. At a beauty salon, her boss sexually assaulted her, but timid and meek, she did not dare speak out. Later, she married an ordinary man, only for him to die in an accident. After 137Reads—Score—14d adds
- 56 My Husband Cheated, So I Swapped Husbands with His Mistress to Change Our Fates 老公出轨，我和小三换夫改命 A new novel currently being serialized, with its rating just posted! [Not a wish-fulfillment story] [Period setting + remarriage + devoted husband + marriage first, love later] [Some ensemble cast elements] [No System] [No pocket dimension] [Realistic everyday life] In the height of summer in 1977, Xu Nan, a temporary worker at a machinery factory, caught her husband, Cheng Peng, having an affair with Liang Yan Min, an employee at the same factory. To protect his reputation and prospects, Cheng 16.9kReads8.4Score1.2k14d adds
- 57 Two Abnormal Humans and a Motorcycle 两个非正常人类与摩托车 Love that defies social norms has often been seen as a symbol of courage and freedom, admired and celebrated. This is the one kind of love people will always despise. This is not a novel, just a story from real life. There are no thrills, no climaxes, no pacing, only despair and oppression. It might be of some small help to people who truly love motorcycles, but be prepared to be mocked. This story has an unconventional outlook on life, values, and the world, and portrays a world of abnormal peo 1.3kReads—Score21414d adds
- 58 She Outlived the Other Woman, Then Was Reborn 熬死小三，她又重生啦 [Not a palace-intrigue novel, not a farming novel: the heroine's growth and the redemption of a life.] Bai Chunyu had a miserable life in her previous life. When she opened her eyes again, she had returned to the 1970s, before any of those tragedies had happened! She decisively cut ties with her family, severing them once and for all. She would protect her genius little daughter with her life. Her family's ancestral silver bangle concealed a pocket dimension, stocked to the brim with supplies. S 281Reads7.7Score—14d adds
- 59 The Sister Buried Beneath My Feet 埋在我脚下的姐姐 The Sister Buried Beneath My Feet 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 60 A Conspiracy Within the Marriage 婚内合谋 After the passion fades, the leads settle into a dull married life, paying off their debts and living without intimacy. Then the male lead's best friend cheats, and through a twist of fate, the female lead receives hush money of 300,000 yuan. Her desire to make money suddenly awakens, and she joins forces with her husband to start a business. As they make money hand over fist, they rediscover the passion of their romance. Greed and the desires of love and hate collide in a tangle of human nature 61Reads—Score—14d adds
- 61 The Three Madwomen in the Village 村里的三个疯女人 [Completed] Three women in Fang Family Village have been branded “crazy.” Three women, three different kinds of “madness,” and three very different lives and fates. The futures of their children quietly take shape amid their mothers’ lives, whether muddled, broken, or clear-eyed, and turn out entirely different. 76Reads7.0Score—14d adds
- 62 Stories from the Ground Up: Wellness, Livelihoods, and Human Nature at a Foot Spa 脚底下的故事——足疗店里养生、饭碗与人心 Stories Beneath Your Feet: Wellness, Livelihoods, and Human Nature at a Foot Massage Shop 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 63 Dustbound Love, Nan Nan 尘缘楠楠 The marriage between Chen Yuan and Nannan, the everyday business of rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea, and all the twists and turns of life, its sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty moments, a jumble of emotions... [Urban Life] [Married Life] [Ordinary Lives] 9Reads8.4Score—14d adds
- 64 Chang'an Road Is Long 长安路远 [Urban daily life + romance + campus + friendship + work + emotional journey] Lin Da cherishes friendship, loves life, and longs for a beautiful future. He had a wonderful childhood and a colorful youth, and chose the love he wanted. Then, for the sake of making a living, he went far from home to work, and before he knew it, half his life had passed... Every encounter in life is part of its journey, and every encounter brings another story... 11Reads—Score—14d adds
- 65 A Bitter Girl’s Rebirth 苦妹之涅槃重生 Inside Ku Mei’s five-year-old body lived the soul of someone who had died with a heart full of hatred. Reborn, she faced a spiteful grandmother who beat and berated her, a cold grandfather who enabled the abuse, and a mother who could only weep helplessly. Ku Mei concealed her boundless hatred and memories of her past life, pretending to be timid as she carefully plotted her every move. She outsmarted her relatives and broke free of her shackles, starting with a bottle of chili sauce from the mi 121Reads—Score—14d adds
- 66 Liu Zhihao's Years of Youth 刘志豪的芳华岁月 [Period novel + workplace + family + society] The story takes its time to unfold, growing richer the further you read. It is grounded in reality, depicting social life, education, love, careers, officialdom, and rural life in the 1990s, offering a sweeping portrait of everyday life in that era. After graduating from university, the protagonist, Liu Zhihao, is assigned to teach at a middle school in his hometown. From then on, his life enters a new phase as he witnesses the development of educati 25Reads—Score114d adds
- 67 The End of Ordinary 平凡的尽头 The story began in 2019. It was a turbulent time, and I stopped writing after a hasty 50,000 words. Then, in May 2020, I finished it. At 250,000 words, it is too short to cover all the joys and sorrows of this bustling world through the changing years. It tells only of several years spent wandering through life. The story is based entirely on real events. Freedom, marriage, career, money, family, friendship. As someone born in the 1990s, I have always questioned the world. I hoped to find answer 36Reads—Score—14d adds
- 68 The Insider 内部人士 In the early 21st century, China’s real estate economy was booming. Many ordinary people caught a favorable wave amid the great tides of history and amassed considerable wealth. The protagonist is an average person with no particular gifts, but as he grows, he continually learns from the wisdom of those around him, including some truly remarkable people. Through constant learning and reflection, he eventually develops a unique kind of wisdom and achieves success of his own. It seems as though fa 10Reads—Score—14d adds
- 69 Our Lost Love Rekindled 逝去的爱又复燃 Wang Xiaorong and Wang Guangming were childhood sweethearts, but their love was full of twists and hardships. After each married someone else, married life brought them not happiness, but endless pain. Once Wang Xiaorong and Wang Guangming had both emerged from the shadows of their tragic marriages, their love rekindled. 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 70 The Green Apple Falls into the Garden 青苹果落园 Youth is full of dreams, passion, and all kinds of generous yet fleeting impulses. Outside influences can make some of them vanish in an instant, while others endure. Whatever their nature, they are part of growing up. These experiences are all raw and new, and whether joyful or painful, they are hard to forget. Everyone finds their own way to preserve these memories. But will their fates be good or bad? Where will they ultimately lead? 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 71 Childhood in the Old Days 旧时光里的童年 The author recalls a rural childhood in Wuchang County, Heilongjiang Province, during the 1970s and 1980s. The book describes rural life and the changes brought about by the household responsibility system in the early days of reform and opening up, along with the joys and hardships of the author’s childhood before the age of ten, major family upheavals, and the warmth and coldness of human nature. 39Reads—Score314d adds
- 72 The Meaning of Happiness 幸福的标准 Ye Han and He Junshan are, in everyone’s eyes, the perfect love story from campus to the altar. But how can a marriage keep feelings safe from the wear and tear of everyday life? Even their careers are gradually facing new crises… 69Reads—Score—14d adds
- 73 Us in Xiangyang Lane 向阳里的我们 [#Real life, #warm neighborhood stories, #healing family bonds, #raising a child and turning life around] Delivery worker Wang Xiaojun had a pain he couldn't put into words: his six-year-old son Xiaobao lived in his own world, like a star. One moment of carelessness nearly resulted in Xiaobao getting lost, sending the entire Xingfuli residential community into chaos. The incident tore open the cracks in Wang Xiaojun and his wife Li Xiujuan's strained marriage, while also revealing the troubles 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 74 Flowers Born of the Earth 土生花 The land is silent, yet it can hold all the hardships endured by three generations. On the barren yellow earth, three generations of women are pressed into the mud by fate, bound hand and foot by patriarchy, and slowly tortured by life. They have no choices and nowhere to turn. They don’t even dare to cry aloud. All they can do is endure the darkness, bear the despair, and keep going through days that have been ground to dust, sustained by sheer will. Yang Jinlian is deaf and stutters. All her 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 75 He Hid in the Years, Loving Me for So Long 他藏在时光里，爱了我很多年 My name is Guo Yaoze. When I was six, a little girl moved in next door. She wore two tiny pigtails and had dimples when she smiled. She gave me her only lollipop. “Brother Xiaoze, I don’t like sweets.” It was twenty years before I learned she’d been lying to me. When I was nine, my family moved away. She cried downstairs, and I cried in the car. At fifteen, I transferred back and she became my desk mate, but she didn’t remember me. At seventeen, after the college entrance exams, my mother sent 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 76 Daring to Act 大胆作为 She was as beautiful as a celestial maiden. Raised in a remote mountain village, she became famous far and wide for her beauty, but she was neither delicate nor dependent on men. With an excellent memory, high emotional and intellectual intelligence, and a stubborn refusal to give up, she carved out a place for herself in the world. She studied opera, ran a stall, worked odd jobs, and did business, eventually making her mark in the commercial world. Because of her unusual birth, her life was far 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 77 The Award-Winning Nanny Reborn with a Professor's Book Collection! 金牌保姆带教授藏书重生啦！ [Reborn + family bonds + everyone’s favorite + healing + mystery] The main story is complete, with some bonus chapters in the works. Feel free to dive in. Lin Chuyi was a top-tier caregiver who spent more than a decade looking after an elderly professor and his wife. They treated her like their own daughter. Before they died, they left her an inheritance and a jade pendant, which sent her back to the age of eighteen. The pendant is a key, and the library is a space connecting her past and future 501Reads9.2Score10014d adds
- 78 Breaking Free 逃离束缚 Su Yu and Tang Yilan met on a blind date arranged by their university professor. After spending some time together, they both decided they liked each other, so they went to meet each other’s parents. At first, everything seemed to go smoothly, but after they got married, they argued over whether to rent a place of their own. Su Yu also has an older brother, Su Lun, who has been married to Zhao Yanan for years, but still has no children of his own. After finally getting married, Tang Yilan reali 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 79 Transmigration: I’m Crushing My Scumbag Ex in a Parallel World 穿越：我在平行世界爆虐渣男前夫 (Soul transmigration and a creative premise + healing from childhood family trauma) One morning, Tang Wanwan wakes up and discovers she has transmigrated... The wounds inflicted by your birth family must be healed within that family. Love is a kind of redemption, a light that gathers lost time. Somehow, it was all destined to be. She is financially independent, beautiful, and sophisticated. He is handsome and wickedly charming, but hopelessly addicted to gambling. It was love at first sight. She 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 80 Chunfen 春芬 Ni Chunfen had known since she was little that her parents were different from other children’s parents. They both spoke with sign language. But they lived a happy life. After Ni Chunfen graduated from college, her parents told her a secret: she was adopted. Now that she was grown up and looking for a job and a boyfriend, they decided to tell her. They didn’t want their daughter to become romantically involved with one of their biological sons. If she ever got serious about a boyfriend, she had 52Reads—Score—14d adds
- 81 The Mortician Married an Officer, and I Became the Scumbag’s Aunt by Marriage 入殓师嫁军官，我成了渣男的小婶 Just before the end of her shift, Su Nianchu received the last corpse scheduled for cremation. To her surprise, the deceased had the same name as her. Su Nianchu's heart skipped a beat. She had a bad feeling! Sure enough, an accident happened during the cremation. When she opened her eyes, she had transmigrated into the body of a village girl in the 1980s. She was lying on a kang, giving birth! Nearby, her malicious husband watched her, planning to trick her into taking sleeping pills so he and 27Reads—Score—14d adds
- 82 Adventures in Russia 闯荡俄罗斯 After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Chinese people flocked to Russia to seek their fortunes. Some were cheated, some were robbed, some grew rich overnight, and others were left penniless. Some abandoned the wives they'd married young to find someone new, while others stayed true to their vows and remained faithful to their marriages. The world is vast and full of surprises. A cast of ordinary people tell the story of Chinese immigrants striving to make a living in a foreign land. 3.2kReads8.8Score31614d adds
- 83 Smoke from the Kitchen Rises Like a Blade 炊烟如刀 Wu Dasheng keeps having one child after another, all for the sake of having a son who can avenge him, even in an era when family planning is a basic national policy... Wu Tong is called a bastard and a son of a bitch from childhood. Zhao Sanxing always stands up for him, but the villagers’ gossip inflicts deep wounds on the young boy’s heart... 163Reads—Score—14d adds
- 84 A Peaceful Family Affair in 1979 平安家事1979 [Period Setting] [Countryside] [Hard Work] [Ordinary Life] [No Golden Finger] [Neither Rebirth nor Transmigration] [Told in warm, down-to-earth prose, a story about an ordinary life filled with warmth] Ji Ping'an always wanted to escape the countryside, turning his "unwillingness to settle" into "having no regrets." But even after the parachute tower stood weathered and abandoned, he was still trapped on his hometown's soil. Ji Manling always said she would repay her family's devotion, yet she r 13Reads—Score—14d adds
- 85 It's Only Fifty 不过是五十而已 An inspirational, unyielding story of midlife crisis, workplace struggles, bank managers and tellers, married life, and everyday urban life. This book tells the story of Huang Wenxue, a bank manager facing a midlife crisis. She is at that awkward age when she is considered too old to find a new job, yet still too young to retire. How will she answer the unavoidable questions surrounding her career, marriage, family, children, and caring for her aging parents? Even in middle age, even when confro 432Reads8.9Score—14d adds
- 86 The Phoenix Woman Marries a Phoenix Man 凤凰女嫁给凤凰男 This is an inspirational story about Yan Yan and Liang Liang, two top students who make their way from the countryside to Beijing. Through their own hard work, they put down roots there, buy a home and a car, and raise a family. Their journey is filled with hardships and laughter, as they keep facing new challenges and growing along the way. 255Reads—Score—14d adds
- 87 A Post-90s Mountain Girl's Starry Sky 90后，山里姑娘的星空 [Diary] [First person] [No contrived twists] [Not a wish-fulfillment novel] [No overpowered protagonist] [Traditional] [Realistic] [Period] [Countryside] [Hardship] [Marriage] [Family bonds] The 1990s were full of life and energy, but they were also a Period when weeds grew unchecked. Many people born in the 1970s and 1980s went to the cities in pursuit of their dreams. Some worked hard for everything they had, while others lost themselves in the glittering world around them. This is a story a 193Reads8.3Score—14d adds
- 88 The Ups and Downs of Business: A Life Well Lived 商业浮沉：不负韶华 "No Cliches, No Idiocy, No Melodrama, No System, No Power Fantasy, No Golden Finger. Read at Your Own Risk" "Jiang Xiaobei’s Comeback" Only later did Jiang Xiaobei understand: Not every effort gets the chance to bloom, not every affection gets an answer, and not everyone who says “next time” really gets a next time. No one could have predicted what came later. That poor kid who couldn’t afford a single shirt, the failed exam candidate whose father pointed at him and said, “This is all you’ll 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 89 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—Score114d adds
- 90 Things That Happened When I Was a Kid 我小时候的事 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. 52Reads—Score—14d adds
- 91 Bargaining Chips on the Road to Promotion 升职路上的筹码 Song Minghui is like a spider at the center of a web, maintaining relationships with three women in different ways. A 26-year-old workplace newcomer, a 35-year-old sales director, and a 41-year-old corporate executive: the web is beginning to unravel as its three “bargaining chips” awaken. - The rules of survival in the workplace's dark forest - How the “prey” turns the tables from a male perspective - The growth of three women, from being used to awakening - Emotional manipulation and counterma 2.2kReads6.3Score13014d adds
- 92 A-Dou’s Comeback 阿豆的逆袭 He was born with a disability: no neck, his head almost resting on his shoulders... On top of that, he lost both his parents as a child. Yet this very man eventually made a comeback like Forrest Gump. He not only married the village beauty, but also found success in his career. How did he turn his life around and rise to the light? Was it luck? Character? Talent? Maybe it was a bit of everything. 9Reads—Score—14d adds
- 93 The Door to Vault Three 三号库的门 The Door to Storage Room Three 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 94 Transmigrating to the 1950s: I Land a Secure Job Thanks to My Uncle, the Director 穿越五零：靠主任舅舅端铁饭碗 Parallel world, Period piece, Northeast factory workers, everyday family life, enjoying life, a happy life. Food delivery rider Zhou Guoqiang takes a tumble into a parallel world in 1950, where he finds a home with bare walls and a drafty, rundown house. His most valuable possession is half a ration biscuit, which he had in his pocket when he transmigrated. Zhou Guoqiang thinks about the policies of the time. Surely he can't spend his whole life bent over the fields? Just as he's worrying about 25.4kReads—Score2.2k14d adds
- 95 Rural Chronicle 乡村纪实 The little details of life, all those everyday moments, come together to paint a picture of a changing countryside. Generation after generation pursues its dreams, working hard in the mountain valleys. They make it through the winter, then the hills turn green in spring. Summer crops blanket the mountains, and autumn is always a season of joy. 212Reads8.4Score—14d adds
- 96 Just a Marriage 婚姻而已 Entering marriage takes courage; making it work takes wisdom. This story follows the different experiences and futures of the three Yang sisters in their marriages, and how they come to their senses and grow with the help of Lin Zimo, their sister-in-law from their maiden home. 878Reads6.6Score11014d adds
- 97 Lotus Shadows over the Capital 莲影京华 Village beauty Shi Cailian has had a life bitter enough to pickle vegetables, but she's blessed with a face of unparalleled beauty. Educated youth Wan Changce falls for her at first sight and takes the college entrance exam four times. When the results come out, Shi Cailian has just fallen out with her biased family, so she packs her bags and goes with him to make it in the capital. He studies hard and becomes a top student, while she uses her beauty to land a secure job at the Friendship Store. 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 98 My Angel Investor Is My Adorable Husband 天使投资人是我的小娇夫 Told from the heroine's perspective, this story follows her journey from an innocent, inexperienced newcomer to the working world to a successful professional woman. Fang Yuwei and the hero, Lin Peifeng, meet on campus. He falls for her at first sight and takes care of her and stays by her side, but Lin Peifeng's identity is not so simple. As the heroine makes her way through the workplace, she encounters all kinds of unwritten rules, both obvious and hidden. She changes jobs several times and m 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 99 Rural Sisters-in-Law 农村妯娌 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. 2.3kReads7.1Score26214d adds
- 100 Better Late Than Never. There's Still a Long Road Ahead 迟到但无妨，来日且方长 Chu Mingxi thinks of herself as a piece of charcoal and Li Cheng as a spark. Only when she meets Li Cheng does she grow warm and begin to shine. She was late to their promise, but in the days ahead, she’ll make a living from the simple pleasures of life and find love through poetry. She once thought beauty lay in partings and reunions, but in the end, even life’s everyday necessities are poetry. 506Reads9.4Score—14d adds
