Novels like Dongguan, Dongguan: The Blossoming '90s
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Dongguan, Dongguan: The Blossoming '90s, best match first.
- 151 Fading Lights Upon the Sea 海上灯火阑珊 This is a story about music, dreams, and love. Yang Cheng, a musician who left his hometown of Shanghai for Beijing, staking everything on his dream, was crushed by powerful industry interests, betrayed by his lover, and had his work stolen. His heart completely broken, he slunk back home. After withdrawing from the noise and ruins of the music scene, he couldn't bring himself to return to his family and lived alone in a rented place, sinking into despair. In the apartment he shared with others, 25Reads—Score—14d adds
- 152 Rust and Blossoms 铁锈与繁花 1990s + inspirational realism + female awakening + a determined comeback + making a life far from home + workplace transformation + family ties + sincere romance + friendly neighbors At seventeen, she never imagined that the peachwood talisman her mother pressed into her palm would accompany her through so many storms: from the crowded sleeper cars of a green train to the fluorescent-lit workshop of an electronics factory; from an old night-school building overgrown with ivy to the desk in her o 575Reads—Score—14d adds
- 153 The Village Fool 村野傻子 [Countryside + City Life + Feel-Good Fiction] He Xiaobai was hit by a car while saving someone and was left with a mental disability. His parents abandoned him, and the villagers looked down on him! One day, he dug up a peerless miraculous pill in the mountains, and from then on, he was no longer a fool. 4.3kReads7.1Score27614d adds
- 154 Xu Xue’er 徐雪儿 The everyday work life of Xu Xue'er, an ordinary office drone and medical student, and the sweet romance that blossoms between her and engineer Zhou Dongyang... A warm, down-to-earth story filled with delicious food and all kinds of sweet, thoughtful interactions!!! 22Reads8.7Score—14d adds
- 155 The Rules of the Children's Home 儿女家的规矩 To help their children raise the grandchildren, a couple in their sixties were forced to live apart. From the day Zhao Youlin moved to the city to help care for his son's child, he became a “guest” in his son's home. A man from a small town, he couldn't fit into life in the big city. He had to speak softly, keep the TV muted, and even watch his son's expression before giving his grandson a piece of meat... Though Zhao Youlin was careful about everything, he still couldn't avoid falling into conf 11kReads8.6Score53414d adds
- 156 Fifty Years of Bride Price: In 1974, It All Began with a Broken Engagement 彩礼50年，1974从悔婚开始 In the bitter winter of 1974, Zhao Shuangzhu publicly called off his engagement and was given three days to come up with a hundred yuan for the bride price. He swallowed his pride and borrowed from every neighbor he could, took the old folks’ burial savings, and went into the mountains at night to hunt rabbits and trade them for cash on the black market. Dodging the market inspectors, he stumbled through the hardest hurdle of his life. He spent the rest of his life marrying, raising children, an 125Reads—Score—14d adds
- 157 Those of Us Who Don’t Want to Go to Work 不想上班的我们 There are three protagonists in this story: a young man who only wants to open a bar, a young woman who drops out of school to become a livestreamer, and me, someone who always played by the rules but eventually became thoroughly disillusioned with office life. This is a story about a group of young people, just like you and me in our youth. We don't want to go to work, but society beats us down and grinds us into the floor. After enduring hardship, a band of little good-for-nothings rises up to 608Reads—Score10014d adds
- 158 A Fierce Life: Moving in with Auntie 彪悍人生：从入住阿姨家开始 After graduating from college, Chen Shi’an returns home, and the wheels of fate begin to turn. The road through the underworld stretches on, while love and loyalty are lost in the haze. After being tested by love and career, he eventually finds his happy ending and raises the banner of justice! 312Reads6.1Score—14d adds
- 159 In Japan, I'm Not Here to Do Anything Else, Just Cause Trouble 人在樱花，不干别的纯霍霍 [Lighthearted modern city life, hit back when things don’t go your way, living it up in Tokyo and Hokkaido] When he woke up, Tang Kai discovered that he’d somehow transmigrated straight to Sakura Island. Tang Kai: [Who says good people never get rewarded? This is exciting!] He wasn’t about to make the trip for nothing. He’d get himself a System and make it big, starting by rescuing and comforting them! All the guys you know are here. Your boy Kai never deals in empty talk. If I say I’m doing it, 175Reads7.0Score—14d adds
- 160 A Land of Auspicious Feng Shui 风水宝地 A beautiful encounter quietly unfolds on a youthful college campus. The hero and heroine meet and grow close during their university days, but a misunderstanding sadly drives their hearts farther and farther apart. After graduation, they each set out on a new journey in life, yet neither can forget the feelings buried deep within. Feng Shui Treasure Land tells a turbulent love story. As the hero continues searching along the path of growing up, he finally understands who he truly loves. He brave 11Reads—Score614d adds
- 161 A Dog's Tragic Life and Comeback 阿狗的悲剧人生逆袭 A Gou's Tragic Life Turned Around 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 162 After My Sister-in-Law Tricked Me into Going to Northern Myanmar, I Found a Way to Survive 被嫂子骗进缅北后，我绝处逢生 754Reads8.7Score10414d adds
- 163 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
- 164 A Mature Couple (Originally Titled: Thirty Like a Wolf, Forty Like a Tiger) 熟龄夫妻（原名：三十如狼，四十如虎） Twenty years ago, when Yang Cuiling left her family in Huluwan to marry into the Wang family in Caiyuan, she never imagined that she would one day become involved with a man other than her husband, Deng Jinzhu. She still believed what the older generation always said: marry a chicken and follow the chicken, marry a dog and follow the dog; marry a carrying pole and hold on to it. Through all the ups and downs, warmth and cold, bitterness and sweetness of life, you simply stay with him. But a seri 5.6kReads9.3Score48814d adds
- 165 A Good Match Has Yet to Be Found 良辰未许人 On her thirty-second birthday, Liang Chen met Chen Qian in person after chatting online for three days. She expected another case of someone looking better in photos, but her ideal type was sitting right across from her: a year younger, tall and handsome, romantic and funny. Even the curve of his smile was exactly to her taste. They fell passionately in love in no time. But amid all the sweetness, they both found themselves wondering: One of us is beautiful and clever, the other is gentle and ha 57Reads—Score—14d adds
- 166 Reborn in 1980: After the Family Split, I Make a Fortune with My Wife and Daughter 重生80，分家后带妻女吃香喝辣 [Period setting + reborn + everyday family life + raising children and doting on his wife + daily life + building wealth + business + food] In 1980, forty-six-year-old Lin Guoqiang was reborn. In his previous life, everyone praised him as a good-hearted man. He lent his hard-earned money to his eldest brother for a business, gave his third younger brother his demobilization allowance to marry a wife, paid for his fifth younger sister’s tuition, and tended to his sick parents at their bedside. Bu 182.7kReads7.4Score7k14d adds
- 167 An Ill-Matched Marriage 不般配的婚姻 After Cheng Ruojia, a small-town girl, married her boss, Tang Yixuan, she spent the next ten years as a housewife, looking after Tang Yixuan and their daughter, Tang Qi. But as Tang Yixuan's business grew and his handsome looks drew attention, a marital crisis crept closer and closer... 628Reads5.8Score—14d adds
- 168 Love Between Two Generations: An Inescapable Bond 两代情之逃不出的羁绊 A bloody maelstrom was set in motion by a marriage swap in the late 1980s. One bride died, and the other fled. The humiliation Hua'er endured on her wedding night is enough to make anyone blush with shame, while the hardships Zijun faced as she fled her marriage are deeply moving. Though the story is named for two generations, it is really about three generations and the sweeping changes in their views on love, marriage, and life. It also shows China's tremendous economic boom and the profound s 5.4kReads9.0Score73114d adds
- 169 Split: Brotherhood and Feuds in the Advertising World 裂变：广告江湖里的兄弟恩仇录 [Workplace + Brotherhood + Corruption + Personal Growth] Yesterday’s brothers, today’s wolves! A bloody business saga that lays bare the fracturing of human nature! Yang Jun and Da Feng, Li Fei, and Liu Jinsong grew up together and were as close as brothers. When Yang Jun first joined Northern Advertising, his impressive results and sharp ambition made him a target of repeated harassment from Wu Dazhi, a manager parachuted in from outside. Forced to resign, he left behind Lin Xue, the designer h 22Reads9.2Score814d adds
- 170 My QQ Girlfriend QQ女网友 QQ Girl Online 29Reads—Score—14d adds
- 171 The Eunuch Village Doctor 太监村医 Also known as: The Village Woman As a child, he was bitten by a big black dog. From then on, he became notorious across the surrounding villages as a eunuch, until a bully brutalized him and he fell into a pit in the mountains... His aunt was often bullied. To protect her, he grew stronger step by step... 26Reads7.0Score1414d adds
- 172 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 123Reads—Score—14d adds
- 173 The Abstinent Top Student Is Reborn as a Scumbag 禁欲学霸重生成渣男 [Reborn + Top Student + Handsome and Wealthy + A Magnet for Admirers] [Before being reborn] The aloof, chaste top student ended his life during his senior year of college because of a hereditary disease. [After being reborn] Handsome and wealthy Shen Muchuan has an irresistible charm that draws women to him. The beautiful upperclassman graduated and joined his family's company. Before he was reborn, she was rumored to be involved with his father. Now, surely he has to win her over himself. Then 26Reads—Score—14d adds
- 174 One Glance, A Lifetime of Love 一次回眸，一世情 [Workplace Romance] + [Modern Romance] + [Family] + [Love at First Sight] + [Secret Crush] This is a tangled love story between one woman and three men. Ouyang Bo, a top student from a prestigious university, gives up his promising future to follow her to a remote mountain village and continue a love they both chose. Cheng Xi, the city’s top official, remains true to his first love for twenty years, letting the feelings sparked by their first meeting deepen into a profound love. Rich and handso 1.7kReads9.4Score19414d adds
- 175 The Pretty Widow of Peach Blossom Creek, Loved by a Young Man 桃花溪的俏寡妇，小年轻爱上她 The night twenty-two-year-old Li Yuchuan returned to his village, he stumbled upon a woman bathing by Peach Blossom Creek. In the moonlight, her skin glowed white. Water slid from her collarbone to the small of her back. She tipped her head back to toss her hair, then flicked out her tongue to lick a drop of water from the corner of her mouth. That one little movement nearly made his soul fly away. Later, he learned she was the “jinx” everyone in the village talked about. Jiang Yuwei. Thirty-fiv 3kReads—Score17114d adds
- 176 My Man Cheated with My Best Friend, and Now He’s Desperate to Win Me Back 男人出轨闺蜜，我转身他追疯了 My Man Cheated with My Best Friend. I Walked Away, and Now He’s Desperate to Get Me Back 329Reads—Score414d adds
- 177 Neither Storm Nor Sunshine! 也无风雨也无晴！ Marriage Before Love, a realistic urban romance about everyday married life! Su Qin and Zhou Xinping marry after being introduced through a matchmaking arrangement, and they bicker constantly. Just as Su Qin feels disappointed and lost, a new dawn arrives. She discovers that her husband truly cares for her, and together they take on a new stage of life! 418Reads—Score—14d adds
- 178 The City's Ultimate Player in Love 都市情场高高手 Lao Liu, an urban office worker, unexpectedly runs into the girl he had a crush on as a teenager. After much hesitation, he decides to pursue his youthful dream. Through a twist of fate, he ends up meeting his dream girl’s cousin by accident. Caught between the two women, he is confused and carried away by his feelings, yet too timid to act... 455Reads9.4Score10514d adds
- 179 She Works as a Maid for a Shenzhen Tycoon 她在深圳豪门做保姆 After her husband divorces her, a nurse from a small county town heads south to Shenzhen to support her child and put her younger brother through school. After losing her job, she is hired as a nanny by Miss Chen, a wealthy heiress. She goes through being framed, misunderstood, dismissed, earning her first savings, suffering a miscarriage after being beaten, and heartbreak. In the end, she marries a local bachelor and becomes the leading lady of a wealthy family. As Miss Chen’s nanny, she witnes 5.9kReads9.2Score70114d adds
- 180 A Gambling Addict's Return to the Right Path 一个网赌仔的浪子回头 A Gambling Addict's Turnaround —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 181 After the Divorce, I Fell for My Sister-in-Law 离婚后，爱上了小姨子 [Multiple heroines + urban life + workplace + comeback + twins + mystery of birth] Mu Yan is a live-in son-in-law, but after his business venture fails, the Lan family looks down on him. His wife, Lan Xin, chooses to divorce him, while her twin sister, Lan Rui, reveals her feelings and stands by Mu Yan through everything. They weather storms, endure heartache, clear up misunderstandings, and finally find happiness together. 908Reads8.1Score—14d adds
- 182 I Made a Million Yuan Writing Novels 我靠写小说赚了一百万 I Made a Million Writing Novels 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 183 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. 2.2kReads7.1Score25914d adds
- 184 Desire by the Bedside 枕边之欲 On one side, Lang Xi was gently making his feelings known. On the other, Lang Xin was behaving outrageously. The two scenes kept intertwining in my mind, driving me to the brink of madness. What should I do? Call them out directly, or pretend nothing happened? What does the person beside me in bed really want? 2.1kReads8.2Score15914d adds
- 185 Middle Age, and My Marriage Is an Empty Shell 人到中年，婚姻只剩空壳 From innocent young love to an unexpected pregnancy before marriage, she blundered into a marriage she’d never truly wanted. Before the wedding, her mother-in-law schemed constantly and was stingy, refusing to give even a penny in bride price. From the moment she entered the family home, she felt wronged and began to harbor resentment. After the wedding, her husband proved to be a complete mama’s boy: mediocre, unambitious, and incapable of taking responsibility. He did whatever his mother told 3.4kReads—Score16914d adds
- 186 Those Years Working in Lingnan 岭南打工那些年 This work is a realistic urban novel based on my own experience of heading south to Guangdong for work in the late 1980s. It might be more accurate to call it a memoir of migrant work than a novel. The characters are all based on my colleagues, fellow villagers, and friends I knew well! I chose to write in the first person so that everyone in these pages would feel vivid and real, with a soul of their own. I hope readers will find the voice warm and familiar as they read or listen in their spare 18.9kReads9.3Score1.7k14d adds
- 187 Fireworks on the Islet, Where People Make Their Homes, Starting in the 1970s 洲上烟火有人家，从七十年代开始 [Rural Romance] [Family Life] [Educated Youth Teacher] [Neighborly Disputes] [Eerie Shadows in the Village] [Country Living and Laughs] This book has no pocket dimension, no System, and no transmigration or rebirth. It tells only of ordinary people’s rural lives and the hard-won warmth and bustle of everyday life through years of hardship. The story begins in the 1970s and follows several families living in the countryside. Among them are educated youths sent to work in the villages, militia mem 108Reads8.3Score—14d adds
- 188 The Urban Hunt 都市围猎 This story follows the tangled struggles over power, profit, and desire within modern corporations. Everyone is a hunter, and everyone is prey. In the end, justice catches up with them: each person is destroyed by the consequences of their own actions. Then a new hunt begins somewhere else. The novel features a large cast of characters, and the author has done their best to pack a miniature society into its pages. 7Reads—Score—14d adds
- 189 Underworld Storms: The Legend of Harbor City 黑道风云之港城传奇 Underworld Legends of Hong Kong —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 190 Dongguan: The CEO's Little Sister Is Super Cute and Sweet 东莞：总裁妹妹超萌甜 [Working in Dongguan + power fantasy + everyday urban life + jianghu feuds + down-to-earth] Simple and honest Zhao Zhendong has just gotten out of prison when his sneaky, underhanded neighbor tricks him into going to Dongguan for work. If it weren’t for his beautiful, generous sister-in-law, He Mengting, taking such good care of him, he probably would have given up long ago. His prospects had seemed bleak, but one small good deed turns his life around completely, and from then on everything goes 5.9kReads8.9Score45014d adds
- 191 When Ji Comes, Make Yourself at Home 季来之，则安之 As the empire teeters on the brink of collapse, Ji Shuhe sees through her fiancé’s false affection and turns around to marry Ji Bai. She intends for them to spend their lives treating each other with polite respect, but finds herself falling deeper and deeper under his doting care... 126Reads—Score—14d adds
- 192 The Country Doctor's Cheat-Fueled Life 乡野神医的开挂人生 The plot is full of twists and turns, and the story is witty and hilarious. This is a delightful rural farming novel that'll have you squealing with excitement! A country boy with unmatched medical and martial arts skills leads his widowed sister-in-law to grow crops and build a fortune!!! Handsome guys and lovely ladies passing by, hurry and take a look! You won't want to miss this exciting story!!! 180Reads—Score—14d adds
- 193 Let Me Build You a Home 我来给你装个家 Who would lose the house they worked so hard to earn just because they fell in love? Jiang Ning. Who would scrimp on everything, from food and clothes to housing and travel, just because they fell in love? Yang Wu. They were both willing to do it for each other. The road may have been hard, but together they were always happy. In the end, they found a home and a life together, sharing three meals a day through all four seasons. 1.5kReads9.4Score14914d adds
- 194 Liu Fang's Account 柳芳的自述 Liu Fang’s Account 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 195 Those Who Left the Village 从村里走出去的人们 Meng Ziqiang started out on the village construction crew and became the richest man in Linqu County. After six divorces and seven marriages, he was killed in an explosion on New Year's Eve. Qiao Yu'er entered a business school and escaped her peasant upbringing. Through diligent writing, she began to make a name for herself, then threw herself into politics and set out on a career in government. Wu Yuexia built up a fish farm and fought her way forward, eventually becoming the deputy county mag 55Reads—Score—14d adds
- 196 The Domineering Village Chief Gets Caught 霸道村长落网记 [Rural] [Period Drama] [Tragedy] Synopsis: The domineering village chief Hu Gang, backed by his family, bullies men, preys on women, and commits every kind of evil. After Hu Ying, the heroine, is abused by Hu Gang and his son, she escapes. With Yang Jun's help, she ultimately brings down the entire Hu family. Yet Hu Ying's tragic fate is only just beginning... (You won't believe it until you read it!) 1.3kReads7.5Score10314d adds
- 197 The Legend of a Food Delivery Guy 外卖小哥的传说 The Legend of a Food Delivery Guy 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 198 A Review of This Life 复盘今生 Wang Yuhan once had a happy family. He and his wife, Yu Meixia, were both teachers. They excelled at their jobs, had a son and a daughter, and were the envy of everyone. But then, one day, it all vanished. If you were the protagonist, how would you react? How would you face betrayal by the person you love and trust most? Drawing on a deep understanding of life, the author tells a moving, vivid story of love and loss, life and death, and tangled passions in plain, flowing prose. The story also ra 808Reads8.8Score10114d adds
- 199 A Cruel Mother, a Broken Home, and Me, Unbroken 狠心的妈，破碎的家，不屈的我 [Male-Oriented, Rural, Family, Comeback, Power Fantasy, Inspirational] Abandoned by his own mother, abused by his stepmother, and struck by his father's sudden misfortune. Su Yang, a poor boy from the mountains, has been left battered by his family's cruelty. With no one to lean on and no support to count on, he can only fight his own way to survival. He studies hard, weathers turmoil on campus, and makes his way in the business world. His heartless relatives come crawling back to latch onto his 28.8kReads8.2Score2.3k14d adds
- 200 A Supporting Actress’s Gossip-Filled Life in the 1970s 七十年代女配的吃瓜日常 After learning she has transmigrated into a historical-era novel as a pawn meant to whitewash the protagonist's group, Jiang Yanqiu first steals half of the original heroine's golden finger, then gives away half of the transmigrated heroine's golden finger. Then she keeps her head down, stays away from the protagonist's group, and enjoys the show. With nobody at the educated youth station willing to talk to her, bored Jiang Yanqiu has nothing to do but gossip to pass the time. She has to admit, 2kReads6.2Score10214d adds
