Novels like A Realistic Life for a Family in the 1970s
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as A Realistic Life for a Family in the 1970s, best match first.
- 1 An Ordinary Small Farmer 平凡小农民 I'm an ordinary country boy, a small-time farmer who got into university but couldn't attend. No one knows how bitter that makes me feel. Helplessness, uncertainty, confusion, and the feeling that there's nothing I can do are enough to drive anyone mad. When you have no one to rely on, what good is confidence? When you have no power or influence, what good is money? Only women can be my cure... 618Reads—Score—14d adds
- 2 Childhood Memories of My Hometown 故乡的童年回忆 Childhood Memories of Home 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 3 My Ex-Husband from the Past, Ready to Crash My Lover’s Trap 昔日前夫，欲闯情人劫 It's not that I don't dare to love. I just haven't met anyone brave enough to love... “I don't want to promise you a past life or a next one. I only want to promise you this life, this lifetime. You will be the only one I love!” 22Reads—Score—14d adds
- 4 Beneath the Great Banyan Tree 大榕树下 A country romance starring Hong Tiangao, the genius of Hong Family Village, and the beautiful Hong Qing'er, childhood sweethearts who grew up together. Amid the turmoil of the world, the young people hold on to their innocence. As social progress quietly sweeps away the countryside's poverty, it also takes away one cherished love after another... 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 5 The Past-Her-Prime Girl Is a Little Sweet 过期少女有点甜 [Academy professor + airline executive] Professor Zhang Rongshi discovers that the man whose affair he exposed is the husband of Bei Yining, a beautiful woman with whom he jointly holds five million yuan in assets. Her junior colleague, whom she personally helped get a job, has betrayed her. Can Bei Yining get past it? Bei Yining’s ex-boyfriend, Jiang Jiachen, is powerful and influential. When he pursues her again, Bei Yining sees through him and realizes that what matters most to him has never —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 6 Autumn Passes, and Winter Comes Again 秋去冬又来 In the 1980s, Xia Ting was born into a poor rural family that favored boys over girls. Her parents fought, and she was forced to leave school at an early age. It all left her sad and helpless! From the innocent friendship she shared with Huang Bo as classmates, to their deep love for each other, then to being forced apart and sent down separate paths, fate's turning wheel eventually led Xia Ting down a different road! So many things in life are beyond our control. The seasons turn from autumn to 29Reads—Score—14d adds
- 7 The Lucky Carp Pig Flirts, and the Hunter Husband Blushes and His Heart Races 锦鲤猪撩拨，猎户相公脸红心跳 Other people hunt wild boars for meat. Gu Hongyuan hunts one and marries it as his wife. Everyone says Gu Hongyuan got a raw deal: his wife is lazy, greedy, and dim-witted. Only Gu Hongyuan knows he struck it rich with this marriage. As soon as his little wife arrives, all kinds of good fortune come knocking. Game practically leaps into his traps, all the chickens in the yard lay double-yolk eggs, and he even finds valuable things just walking down the road. And that's not to mention how rich he 17Reads—Score—14d adds
- 8 Dust Settles in the Mortal World 尘落人间 Jinhai Niang says that life is all about suffering. If you don't suffer one way, you'll suffer another. Once you've endured your share, it's time to go. No System, no transmigration, just a straightforward story... 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 9 When the Heart Lotus Blooms 心莲花开 Xinlian, a beautiful country girl, heads to the bustling city with dreams in her heart while still young and naive. But she suffers setback after setback in both love and her career. By a twist of fate, she meets friends who share her ideals, and Xinlian decides to return to her hometown and start a business. At last... Set against the rural countryside of the 1980s, this story reveals the truths of life through its quiet, everyday moments! Perhaps everyone can see a little of themselves in thes —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 10 Transmigrating to the 1980s: I Accidentally Won the Heart of an Untouchable Man 穿八零：一不小心摘了个高岭之花 Fu Anan was living the easy life when she woke up one morning to find herself inhabiting the body of a miserable, scrawny little girl in the 1970s. Her father doesn’t love her, her mother can’t stand her, and they leave her with her awful grandmother to fend for herself while they head back to the capital to live it up. But Fu Anan, who comes from modern times, isn’t that little fool. She won’t put up with this. She grabs a long stick and beats the whole family into a panic, leaving them screami 2.2kReads8.8Score20314d adds
- 11 An Old Flame Rekindled: Becoming an Idol's Adored Little Wife 旧爱重燃，成为偶像的小娇妻 One is the idol of countless young women, and the other is a beautiful university lecturer. They come from completely different worlds, so how could their paths ever cross? “Gu Ziyou has liked him for a long time...” “Isn’t that only natural? Any woman would fall for Jiang Qingjue.” “Jiang Qingjue loves her too. He’s loved her since high school...” What neither of them knows is that she doesn’t love the celebrity Jiang Qingjue. She loves Jiang Qingjue, the ordinary classmate. Is there someone yo 16Reads6.2Score—14d adds
- 12 The Little White Rabbit of the 1970s: Sweet, Tough, and a Little Cool 70年代小白兔，不娇不弱有点酷 [Period] [Marriage Before Love] [Family] [Play the Pig to Eat the Tiger] “Why did you marry me?” “Because your name is Gaoxing. Just hearing it makes me happy.” With a wicked sister-in-law at home, Cheng Yu married herself off for such a flimsy reason. Want to bleed her dry? Not a chance! Gaoxing is actually quite clever, but he always acts like a clueless fool. “I’m afraid you don’t love me.” Cheng Yu saw right through him long ago. “You’re just playing the pig to eat the tiger.” 38Reads—Score—14d adds
- 13 After the Divorce, My First Love and I Got Our Happy Ending 离婚后我和初恋he了 [Realistic setting + romance + slow-paced + family of origin] After Jing Yue gets divorced, her happy life is only just beginning. This is a love story about reuniting with a first love after years apart, following a divorce. Maybe some people are just like that: destined to endure hardships before finding love in a second marriage... 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 14 Period Novel: Qingxiao at Spring Mountain 年代文：清晓临春山 (Era fiction x Rural life x Slow-paced romance x Gentle and cozy x No angst) In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a small village deep inland was extremely underdeveloped. After Lin Qingxiao married through a match arranged by their families, she struggled to come to terms with it. Fortunately, Li Chunshan waited for her and devoted himself to her, and their feelings gradually deepened... The ups and downs of life, and conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. The support and affect —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 15 A Widow in Name Only! The Neighboring Roughneck Has His Eye on Her 活守寡！邻家糙汉馋上她 [Rural life in the 1980s, realism, ensemble cast, family squabbles, building a better life] Adapted from real events, this story is set in a small village in southern Henan in the 1980s. Pretty Li Chuntao is married off in her brother's place to a “living corpse,” becoming overnight the “living widow” everyone whispers about behind her back. Just as her life seems like a stagnant pool, a rough-hewn man barges into it. Family ties bind her hand and foot, while her growing feelings are a fire sh 33Reads7.5Score—14d adds
- 16 Three Flowers Beneath the Pagoda Tree 槐树下的三朵花 Bygone era + countryside + family This is a novel set in the countryside in a bygone era. It tells the heartwarming story of three girls who rely on their mother and each other through difficult times. It portrays the resilience and warmth of an ordinary family in the 1990s! 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 17 I'm Not a Monster! 我不是怪物呀 I, Chen Dou'er, was born in the countryside with congenital defects: ears as small as beans and a cleft lip. Because I was ugly, I endured discrimination throughout my childhood and tasted every kind of hardship life had to offer. Fortunately, I was exceptionally gifted and had a remarkable aptitude for music and painting. Most importantly, I met benefactors when I was young. They pulled me out of the mire. Later, I moved to the city with my friends and won over countless audiences with my talen —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 18 Xiangshui Village on Xiangshui Bay 响水湾上的响水村 The story takes place in a small mountain village in the early 1980s. A group of colorful ordinary people work hard to bring a series of changes to their village as it keeps pace with the times. The story moves at a varied pace, capturing the rhythms of life in that era. Through vivid prose, the author unfolds scenes from the past one by one, evoking the unforgettable spirit of the 1980s. Let us return in our imagination to a landscape of lush green hills and clear waters. Xiangshui Village, on 6Reads—Score—14d adds
- 19 For a Better Life 为了生活更美好 Set in contemporary times, this novel explores the effective transition from poverty alleviation to rural revitalization. Against the backdrop of a great era, an imbalanced population, the preference for sons over daughters, and a mass influx of migrant workers into the cities have left many young men in the countryside unable to find partners. Sun Jiawei is one of them. Hoping to find a girlfriend, he goes to Shanghai for work, only to suffer the miserable ordeal of having his engagement broken 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 20 Fireworks in Peach Blossom Haven 烟火桃源 The five beauties of yesteryear are all 25 now. Amid the daily chaos of chores and making ends meet, their lives are still full of color... Their husbands cheat, their daughters rebel, their sons squander the family fortune, and their parents grow old. Everything looks like a mess, but so what? Isn’t life about keeping on living and making the most of every bit of chaos? Let it all get messy. That’s what gives life its down-to-earth warmth! Let it all get messy. Their little paradise will always 10Reads—Score—14d adds
- 21 My Mother Was Kidnapped 我那被拐来的母亲 Every woman abducted by human traffickers is denied the freedom to choose her own husband. They can only do as they are told and marry a man they have met just once. Whatever his circumstances, they have no choice. And so, my mother and father became a family. 1.7kReads8.9Score10114d adds
- 22 The Blind Village Doctor, Kang Ge 瞎子村医，康哥 [Countryside + Farming + Miracle Doctor + Urban Life] A blind young man from a small village unexpectedly receives an extraordinary legacy. From then on, he secretly takes on the forces in the village that have committed countless evils, while beginning his own rise from the bottom. Step by step, he reaches the pinnacle of success, earning the admiration of those around him as he watches the world’s changing fortunes with a smile… [This book is entirely fictional. Any resemblance is purely coin 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 23 Reborn, She Became Her Own Strongest Support 重生后，她成为了自己的靠山 In Niugou Valley, deep in the mountains, He Wan’er is a marriageable young woman with delicate, lovely features. Matchmakers have worn a path to her family’s door. Though her parents ask what she thinks after every match, the final decision is always theirs. No unreliable or spineless men! No men from small families! No men without ambition or a strong work ethic! No men who often argue with their parents! No men without opinions of their own, and no mama’s boys! Looks don’t matter, as long as h —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 24 Huang Gou and the Yellow Dog 黄苟与黄狗 Born in the countryside, Huang Gou leaves the impoverished land and the remote mountain ravines for the bustling city, all in the name of survival. Society, that great university, wears away the sharp edges of his youthful dreams, and in the end, he is buried in the yellow earth of the mountains. Just as the saying goes: in youth, you’re as fierce as a dog; in middle age, you’re worse off than a dog; and in old age, you’re lower than a dog... —Reads—Score114d adds
- 25 Warm Blossoms of the Eighties 八十年代的暖花 Lin Wanxing was known throughout the surrounding villages as a delicate young woman, too frail to carry or lift anything. After she married, she wouldn't so much as touch a farm chore. But no one knew she'd transmigrated into an 1980s military-wife novel, becoming a supporting character with the same name who had jumped into a river to win the male lead's heart. The man who rescued her was Shen Yandong, the toughest man in the neighboring village, and the future golden finger of the book's heroi 20Reads—Score—14d adds
- 26 The Tough Guys of Tieling Village 铁岭屯茬子有点彪 Wang Dana, the village fool from Tieling Tun, tries to win over the village beauty, Zhao Xiaofang, and talks his childhood friends into forming the “Rural Revitalization F5.” Their plans to get rich turn into an absurd comedy: their livestream sales team all end up with snake-spirit faces, they convert a tractor into a rotating Michelin-starred restaurant, and a snowfield pork-knuckle race ends in a latrine collapse… When cornfield economics meets magical realism, the village’s steel-hearted men 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 27 The Eighties: Remarrying the Rugged Man Next Door 八零之改嫁隔壁糙汉 [No pocket dimension + no System + no golden finger + no saintly heroine] Keying’s husband was impotent, but she didn’t know it. He kept deceiving her, and after a year of marriage she was still a virgin. Her mother-in-law called her a barren hen, while her own husband did nothing but play peacemaker. At last, Keying could take it no longer. She kicked her scumbag ex-husband to the curb and remarried the rough-hewn veteran who had just returned home next door. He pampered her like a queen. Her s 13Reads5.9Score—14d adds
- 28 Wading Across the River of Life 趟过人生河 Ren Tianxing was born into humble circumstances, yet he defied the odds. Hoping to change his lot in life, he endured hardship after hardship... only to be left with regrets... This novel pays tribute to all those who spend years away from home, working to support their families. You work so hard. Like all of you, the protagonist Ren Tianxing lives far from home, drifting and wandering through a life at the very bottom, yet he keeps striving... —Reads7.0Score—14d adds
- 29 Remembering My Childhood 忆余童稚时 I feel like the pace of society is too fast these days. So many things I want to hold on to slip away, including memories. I'm afraid I'll forget them one day, so while I still remember, I'd better write them down. You're welcome to read my work on Tomato Novel. I hope you'll enjoy it. Your support motivates me to write, and I'll do my best to tell every story well! —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 30 The Peerless Immortal Healer in the Mountain Village 极品仙医混山村 He's a poor young man who unexpectedly turns his life around. He just wants to farm honestly and make a living, but somehow people keep trying to cozy up to him. Wang Xiaoer is baffled. “I'm not even handsome, so why am I so charming?” 58Reads9.1Score—14d adds
- 31 Hello, 1982 你好，1982 My new work is here! You’re welcome to read it on Tomato Novel. I hope you enjoy it. Your support gives me the motivation to write, and I’ll do my best to tell every story well! —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 32 Sing Out for Youth 唱响青春 College is an important milestone in our lives, and those years can be truly wonderful. Everyone explores, searches, moves forward, perseveres, and waits for something in their own way. We all remember our college days differently, with our own distinct feelings and experiences. It was a time when we still wrote letters, listened to portable music players, and watched movies on discs, before mobile phones were everywhere. When those sealed-away years are reopened and brought back to life, when t 1Reads—Score114d adds
- 33 Palace: Hai Qing’s Beautiful, Sweet Romance Series 宫阙：海青拿天鹅唯美甜宠系列 Five beautiful, sweet romance classics by renowned historical romance author Hai Qing Na Tian E, each telling a love story set in a different era. “White Peony”: The Heavenly Court's most flirtatious god from ancient times takes on the cutest celestial dog in history. “The Yin-Shang Black Bird Chronicles”: A vivid evocation of the simple, archaic beauty of the Yin-Shang era, telling a passionate yet plainspoken love story straight out of the Book of Songs. “Twin Towers”: In the Western Zhou dyna 7Reads7.4Score—14d adds
- 34 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
- 35 From the Start, I Help Mom Divorce, Then Become a Mama's Boy in the 1980s 开局帮妈离婚，我在八零年做妈宝 1980s • Sweet Romance • Winning Back His Wife • Redemption for a Troubled Soul • Cute Pets Bai Suiran was murdered by her scumbag boyfriend and her so-called best friend working together. Now she was reborn in the depths of winter, the year she turned eleven. Her scumbag father is cheating? She’ll take her bold, spirited mother and divorce him! Her relatives are a nightmare? She’ll become the family’s adored little firecracker and take them on headfirst! Bai Suiran: Heaven gave me another chance 63Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 36 Those Things That Happened in the Mountain Village 山村里的那些事儿 A young man from a mountain village leads the villagers on the road to prosperity. With the help of the women by his side, he overcomes every obstacle, makes his mark on the world, and ultimately rises to wealth and success. 207Reads8.9Score10514d adds
- 37 What the Village Beauty Can't Say 村花不能说的事 The village beauty is the dream goddess all the men in the village adore. What secrets will she experience after she gets married, the kind no one can talk about? She's so beautiful. Will married life bring her happiness and bliss? 1.7kReads6.6Score12514d adds
- 38 I’d Just Settled Into My New Home, Then Opened My Eyes in 1969 刚安顿好新家一睁眼身处1969 Lin Zhiwan wakes up in 1969 as a doomed extra who was starved to death after her awful family cut off her food and water! In her previous life, she fought tooth and nail to escape her miserable circumstances, scrimping and saving until she paid in full for a spacious new apartment. Before she could move in, she was suddenly transported into the past. Her original self had worked desperately to secure a job at a state-owned factory, only for her family to exploit her and give the position to the 2.1kReads8.2Score14614d adds
- 39 Flowers Falling in a Fleeting World 浮世花落 Zhao Yulan was a gentle, virtuous, loyal, kind, and lovely woman, yet she had an affair. Li Fugui was a hardworking, honest, and upright man, yet he went to prison twice. Cao Rui was a village Party secretary and a successful entrepreneur, yet he coveted a married woman. What's wrong with people… This book explores marriage, family, society, life, human nature, and ethics… There's love and desire, life and death, madness, the folly and greed of human nature, and the warmth and compassion of huma 13Reads—Score—14d adds
- 40 After My Thoughts Were Exposed: The Iron-Blooded Officer’s Eyes Turned Red 泄露心声后：铁血军官红了眼 [Mind Reading + Period Setting + Military Marriage + No Golden Finger + 1v1 + Marriage Before Love + Heroine Knows Martial Arts] While hiking, Lin Zhixia accidentally fell off a cliff and transmigrated into the period novel she'd just finished reading. She became the early-dead wife of the devoted second male lead, a minor character who wouldn't survive three chapters from the start. When she opened her eyes, she had become Lin Zhixia, who jumped off a cliff to protect her virtue. They shared th 151Reads6.9Score—14d adds
- 41 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
- 42 Reborn in the 1980s: I Crush the Two-Faced Homewreckers 重生八零脚踩绿茶白莲花 After waking up, Jiang Chunyan transmigrated into the body of a chubby girl in 1982 who shared her name. Her reputation was ruined by her green-tea stepmother, and her marriage was stolen by her white-lotus stepsister, but Jiang Chunyan, thick-skinned and hard-hearted, couldn't care less! So what if her birth father didn't love her? So what if those green-tea and white-lotus types stirred up trouble? Watch her make a name for herself in the 1980s alongside her poor, honest uncle, and trample eve 129Reads8.4Score—14d adds
- 43 Transmigrating to the 1970s: I’m Trying My Best to Be a Happy-Go-Lucky Slacker 穿越七零之我努力当咸鱼 Lin Siyao unexpectedly acquires a pocket dimension. Following the usual novel plot, she starts frantically stockpiling supplies. After transmigrating, she uses her memories to stockpile houses and land, hoping to become a wealthy woman with plenty of free time. In the end, she fulfills her dream from her previous life: never having to work, and simply enjoying life. 137Reads8.0Score—14d adds
- 44 A Two-Bedroom Home in the 1970s: Taming a Rugged Man and Having His Babies 带着两居穿七零：撩糙汉，生崽崽 [Sweet, adorable young educated woman + reserved older man + fascinating details of the era + everyday family life + marriage before love] Office drone and perennial single Jiang Wanwan wakes up to find she has transmigrated into a novel set in a bygone era, becoming a cannon-fodder supporting female character with the same name. The original Jiang Wanwan was not only hopelessly lovesick, but also a stepping stone to the glamorous lives of the male and female leads. She gave up her city job to p 440Reads8.2Score—14d adds
- 45 Sparks Among the Waves of Wheat 麦浪里的星火 In 1983, in Liushutun, on the Jizhong Plain, the winds of reform swept into this isolated village. Seventeen-year-old Lin Qiusui was facing the hardest choice of her life. The household responsibility system brought more than the division of land; it also stirred up hidden currents within the three-generation Lin family. The sparks from Grandpa Lin Mancangs pipe as he tapped it against the edge of the kang, her father Lin Jianguo’s hunched back in the family’s assigned fields, and her little sis 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 46 The Warmth of the Human World, Those Years 人间烟火，那些年 Realistic fiction, mostly based on true events. The rough life of an ordinary woman in the 1990s: a difficult mother-in-law, too many children, fines and having her home searched, scraping by to make a living, and surviving two brushes with death. Even so, she never loses hope for the future... Her wedding is just around the corner when the matchmaker interferes, keeping her from spending her life with the man she loves. Forced to marry the suitable match her parents picked, she hears her mother 1.7kReads6.5Score12114d adds
- 47 Reborn in the 1980s: The Richest Man Who Crawled Out of a Coffin 重生八零：棺材板里爬出来的首富 No black market, no rural relocation, no educated youth, no System, no pocket dimension. Here's a different kind of transmigration story set in a bygone era, with a pace so fast you won't believe it. You won't regret picking it up, so add it to your bookshelf now! Su Wanqing, a white-collar worker from the 21st century, is reborn in the body of a poor village girl in 1980. The original owner was forced to marry a lame old bachelor and starved to death. On the day of her burial, she climbs out of 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 48 By the Lotus-Picking Lake 采莲湖畔 [1980s | Rural Coal Mines | The Struggles of an Ordinary Man] In 1991, by the shores of Lianhua Lake in southern Shandong, Zheng Qiang grew up in the countryside. His father worked in the coal mines year-round, while his mother held the family together on her own. The mine's coal dust bore witness to his youth. After graduating from vocational school, he returned home to teach in a village. His meager salary left him facing a choice: Was staying behind in the countryside a way to repay his fami 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 49 The Left-Behind Wife 留守妇女 Xiyun was just one ordinary woman among countless women in the countryside. She had always thought her life would be like that of other rural women: getting married, having children, looking after her husband, and making ends meet, just like her own parents. But when the winds of a new era blew into the countryside and the tide of reform made her one of the many women left behind in their villages, she began to deeply question her past life and her marriage. The hopes for life and love she had c 134Reads9.0Score10114d adds
- 50 Driven Into a Ruined House During Famine: Farming My Way to Fortune 荒年被赶住破屋：种田暴富喜盈门 No transmigration or rebirth + farming and prosperity + warmth and unity It was a year of famine. Wu Jingqiu's family was so poor they could barely feed themselves. Her mother was sick, her younger sister was still little, and her wicked uncle and aunt were plotting to sell her. Fortunately, she was quick-witted and managed to escape. When the attempt to sell her failed, her aunt hurriedly drove the family out of their home. With nowhere else to go, Wu Jingqiu and her family had no choice but 207Reads8.2Score—14d adds
