Novels like Old Liu and His Daughter
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Old Liu and His Daughter, best match first.
- 101 Desires Beneath the Mask 面具下的欲望 Bacon said that human desire is the driving force behind social progress. This is true: desire can spur people to work harder, bring out their full potential, and push humanity ever forward. But whoever you are, if you cannot control your desires and they turn into greed, disaster is bound to follow. Those without desire are things; those with desire are people; those who can control their desires can become people of consequence. But how many can truly control their desires and know when to sto 10.5kReads8.6Score1.1k14d adds
- 102 Trial Marriage 试婚男女 Jiang Chunhua, a budget officer at a construction company, meets Xu Qiushi, an administrative secretary at a private enterprise, on a blind date arranged by their families. But Qiushi never quite falls in love with him. After experiencing her first love, Fang Yuan, as well as Qu Xianghuai and Cheng Ziwei, she starts to feel that falling for someone is difficult. Meanwhile, her younger sister, Qiuhe, unexpectedly meets police officer Zhou Tianmu. Neither of them expects much at first, thinking it 697Reads8.4Score13114d adds
- 103 The Man Next Door 男邻居 Qiao Mai, a country girl, endures a rough journey from her wedding and childbirth to miscarriage and divorce. Over the course of twelve years of marriage, the special sweetness of being each other’s “darling” fades amid her husband’s disrespect and inaction. Her affection is gradually extinguished by the havoc wreaked by her mother-in-law and three sisters-in-law, until the marriage finally ends in divorce. The story begins with a man living downstairs listening to his neighbors having sex in th 84Reads9.5Score—14d adds
- 104 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
- 105 A Fox's Glimmering Shadow 狐光掠影 Mistresses have always been a desperate lot! No praise, no blame. I'm just telling their stories. In the eyes of the public, they're like rats crossing the street, hated by everyone and living in dark corners where the sun never shines. The smart and capable ones manage to get out in time. The foolish ones are left, bobbing up and down in the dark abyss... There are many ways to live a long life, yet this particular group chooses this one, and there are quite a few of them. At least, there are s —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 106 I Dumped My Handsome Wife-Beater and Married an Ugly, Scarred Man 甩了家暴美男，嫁给刀疤丑汉 Period drama + rural life + family squabbles + workplace + nightlife + second marriage + entrepreneurship In the early 1980s, rural woman Wang Xiuhong was abused by her handsome husband, Zhao Dayong. After enduring humiliation, she left with nothing. She went to the city to make a living, suffered bullying at a food factory, and was fired. With nowhere else to turn, she ended up at a nightclub. There she met Yang Jun, a discharged soldier with a face full of knife scars, and the only person in t 56Reads—Score—14d adds
- 107 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... 12Reads—Score—14d adds
- 108 Xue Mei's Story 雪梅的故事 Bare, barren loess hills. Ravines and ridges wind their way into the distance. This is where the story’s heroine, Xuemei, spent her childhood, grew into a shy young woman, and endured until she became a mature wife. She works hard, cultivating this poor yellow earth, and sings the praises of the diligence and simplicity of rural women in the new era. 148Reads—Score—14d adds
- 109 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
- 110 Sanxi: From Village Beauty to Village Bully 三喜：从村花到村霸 A beautiful country girl marries in a daze, only for upheaval to strike her family. She goes from depending on others to growing strong on her own, but in the end, desire consumes her and leads her to ruin. In her final moments, she realizes that human nature cannot be controlled… 136Reads—Score10114d adds
- 111 I've Decided to Truly Love Someone 我决定好好去爱一个人 After getting hurt in love, when I meet someone who treats me well, I think I should try to love them wholeheartedly. Even if it ends in failure, that would be better than living with regret. Learning to love again and loving someone I have no feelings for without holding back is not easy for a Scorpio woman. It took me half a lifetime to realize that the person I most needed to love properly was myself. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 112 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
- 113 Love After Marriage, Day After Day 先婚后爱朝朝暮暮 Marriage Before Love, Sweet Romance After breaking up with her boyfriend of four years, Zhang Tong turned around and got involved with Qin Chuan. At first, she was only looking to have some fun and get back at her ex. Who knew she'd take things too far and get pregnant! After getting pregnant, Zhang Tong somehow ended up marrying Qin Chuan. Then she followed him to live in the countryside, only to discover that it was nothing like the pastoral life she'd dreamed of. There was endless farmwork! T 114Reads—Score—14d adds
- 114 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
- 115 The Light at the End of the Road 穷途的光辉 How many generations of hardship and joy must a poor family endure before they can finally get ahead? How much suffering must a girl witness before she understands life? How many trials must a family face before the younger generation understands how hard things were for their ancestors? 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 116 Burning Passion 燃烧的热血 “With heads held high and spirits soaring, we crossed the Yalu River. To preserve peace and defend our motherland is to defend our home. The finest sons and daughters of China stand united as one, resisting American aggression and aiding Korea, defeating the American imperialist wolf!” Whenever I read books or watch films and TV dramas about the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, my heart surges with emotion, and I feel the deepest respect for the martyrs who gave their lives so bravel 664Reads8.2Score—14d adds
- 117 The Third Shadow of Bingwu Alley 丙午巷的第三个影子 The Third Shadow in Bingwu Alley 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 118 Demolition Debris Hits My Head! The Land Grab Ending Had Me Rolling 拆迁砸头！抢房结局笑疯 Demolition debris hits him on the head! The scramble for the house ends in hilarious chaos. 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 119 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
- 120 Since I Stopped Putting Up with My Marriage, I've Been Living My Best Life 自从婚姻不再忍着过老娘我爽爆了 Hua Roulan stayed in the big city of Hailing after graduating from university. Her husband, Cheng Chuanhe, had a doctorate and ran a company. “You don't earn as much as I do. What gives you the right to make me do the housework?” Whenever Cheng Chuanhe flew into a rage, he erupted like a landslide, completely hysterical. Arguments between married couples are inevitable, but he resorted to verbal attacks and emotional abuse... She really couldn't take it anymore. She didn't want to keep enduri 49Reads7.1Score—14d adds
- 121 Reality Has Nothing to Do with Ideals 现实与理想无关 Ideals are ideals, and reality is reality. Never confuse the two. The road from reality to ideals is long, so long that most people spend their whole lives without ever reaching the end. There are countless cases of ideals crumbling into reality, so many that every day someone gives up on their dreams and accepts the way things are. If someone is still living in reality while drawing ever closer to their ideals, congratulations. But are you sure that someone will be you? 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 122 Wangcai the Golden Retriever Says: Don't Be Afraid, I'll Stay by Your Side 金毛狗旺财说：别怕，我守着你 The Golden Retriever Wangcai Says: Don't Be Afraid, I'll Stay by Your Side —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 123 The No-Drama Casebook 不抓马风云事件簿 A healing little ray of sunshine and a devoted, faithful boyfriend: twenty years of ups and downs, the secretly affectionate couple! The woman isn’t called Keyun or Xiyun. Her name is Tan Yun. The man isn’t called Lifeng or Mufeng. His name is Lu Feng. There’s no earth-shattering first meeting, no all-powerful golden finger, and no melodramatic, messy entanglements, just twenty years of enduring devotion and favor. —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 124 The Internet Takes the World by Storm 网事成风 She was born in the 1980s and sent away to be fostered soon after birth. Her greatest childhood hope was to live with her parents. She spends her life healing from her childhood wounds. After enduring one heartbreak after another, she finally finds the right person. This is a healing story, but it is not a clean romance. Read with caution if that bothers you. 8Reads—Score—14d adds
- 125 Her Secret Thoughts: A Young Man’s Hidden Diary in a Small Village 致她的心事：小村青年的隐秘日记 No formulaic plot | Not a wish-fulfillment novel | Realistic fiction | Zhou Zhiqiang grows up amid poverty and chaos in her birth family, with her father instilling in her the survival rule that “you have to please people to survive.” She gets into college and lands a job at a bank. A well-off man, Ke Qingyan, pursues her, but as the truth about her family comes out, she gradually loses her self-respect and her relationship. Later, burdened with debt, she returns to her hometown and, under he 2Reads—Score—14d adds
- 126 Women, Houses, and Everything in Between 女人与房子那些事儿 An unremarkable woman stops at nothing, steadily climbing the ranks until she makes a stunning comeback and becomes the president of a real estate company. Her life is full of hardships and almost legendary twists. The novel also reveals many little-known secrets of the real estate industry. 18Reads—Score—14d adds
- 127 A Tenacious Life 坚韧的活着 Adapted from a true story, this is about a boy from a poor rural family who works tirelessly at his studies to escape poverty. When he grows up, misfortune follows him one after another, but the resilience he developed as a child keeps him from bowing to fate or giving in to hardship. Through his actions, he shows what it means to persevere. After enduring countless trials and tribulations, he earns the respect of life itself and finds his miracle. This story carries a message: life can always g 1.9kReads—Score—14d adds
- 128 Foot Massage Is a Way, Technique Is a Method: Follow the Way of Nature 足道也是道手法也是法道法自然 A young man’s journey through love brings surprises and disappointments, laughter, and moments that leave him wanting to cry but unable to shed a tear. What is love, really… Perhaps it means being together forever, or perhaps it means having loved once. The answer lies in the hearts of all you fellow cultivators… —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 129 First Love? Who Cares! The Chinese Teacher Has Big Plans 初恋算个屁，语文老师要干大事 (No System, no golden finger, no being reborn, just slow growth) After getting back together with her first love, being smacked by a parent, and getting stabbed by her own boyfriend, she lost the ability to have children. Then, after finishing her graduate school entrance exams, her mother died unexpectedly. Xia Shinan decided, “First love can go to hell. Building a career and making big money are what matter most!” Xia Shinan (a pun on “born female”), a 26-year-old woman, comes from a family t 5Reads—Score—14d adds
- 130 Stories from the Construction Site 工地上的那些事儿 [No System, entirely hand-written. Men and women on a construction site, struggling to survive in the workplace.] They say construction sites are chaotic, women are scarce, and beautiful women are even rarer. After graduating from college, I started working at a construction site. On my very first day, I met Sister Xiaoya, who was already married, and accidentally offended the site boss. It turned out that the construction site held more than just men and women. There were also stories few peopl 10.9kReads7.6Score81814d adds
- 131 I Sold Used Cars and Earned My First Fortune 我做二手车，赚了人生第一桶金 I Made My First Fortune Selling Used Cars 41Reads—Score—14d adds
- 132 The Hidden Wife 隐妻 [The comic adaptation is now available! Tap “Adaptation Theater” in the lower-right corner of any page of this book to watch instantly. The original novel and short drama each have their own appeal. Share it with your friends!] No rebirth, no transmigration, and no System golden finger, just the true golden years of an entire generation! Having fled an arranged marriage, he joins the tide of migrant workers heading south. In a southern metropolis brimming with both opportunity and challenges, he 790Reads6.2Score10014d adds
- 133 Finding True Love Inside and Outside Marriage in Midlife 人到中年婚姻内外寻找真爱 Yang Duo is a flower in full bloom. Though she’s forty, she’s still young and beautiful. A woman in pursuit of true love, she yearns for romance and has spent her life exploring and experiencing it. A passionate love affair that nearly cost her life in her youth, a joyless marriage in middle age, and an unexpected encounter outside her marriage: whenever she falls for someone, she loves with wild abandon and suffers heartbreak that tears her apart. Her three close friends have very different l 638Reads8.7Score10114d adds
- 134 Tales from a Tiny Office 小破单位的故事 The sorrows of community social workers: the stories that have unfolded since I started the job. So many stories come together to paint a picture of life at the very bottom, lived for ourselves and for others. In the end, though, some invisible force keeps pushing us forward. 4Reads—Score—14d adds
- 135 Reborn in 2005, She Dumps the Jerk and Marries a Tycoon 重生2005，她踹了渣男嫁首富 [Dual rebirth + no golden fingers + revenge + wish fulfillment] After Tan Qian is angered to death, she is reborn in 2005, on the day she was wrongly accused of murder. She settles every score and takes revenge on every enemy. Not only does she reclaim what belongs to her, she also sends her scumbag boyfriend and third sister to prison. “Girl, aren't you in love with my husband? He's all yours!” ~ After her mother is imprisoned, Qin Yiyi's life falls from heaven into the depths of hell. Her fami 65Reads—Score—14d adds
- 136 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
- 137 Village Chief, Don't Mess with Me 村长，别来惹我 Liang Yuzhen is a widow in the village, beautiful and kindhearted. The village chief is a local bully, but seeing that Liang Yuzhen has no man to rely on, he often stops by to help her with whatever he can, putting on a show of being a good Samaritan. 94Reads7.1Score—14d adds
- 138 Uncovering the Past of the ‘Third-Line’ Defense Industry Workers 揭秘:“小三线”军工人的往事 A Look Back at the Past of the “Third-Line” Defense Industry Workers 15Reads—Score114d adds
- 139 The Newlywed Young Widow 新婚小寡妇 In the winter of 1976, Li Yanmei was newly married when her husband died. Branded a “husband-killing” jinx, she was pregnant when her cruel in-laws threw her out with nothing. On a stormy night, she gave birth in a melon shed. Starving and freezing, she swallowed the slur “loose woman” along with her tears. For the little one in her arms, she wiped away her tears and turned humiliation into a stepping stone. She went from selling goods at a black-market stall to reclaiming land for farming, from 1.6kReads6.5Score11014d adds
- 140 City Romance: 101 Heart-Pounding Moments 都市恋语：101次心动瞬间 In this bustling city, love quietly takes shape in a thousand different ways. Some feel their hearts race as they pass a stranger in a subway station. Some rediscover their courage after a chance encounter in a cafe. And some use words across a screen to keep each other warm through lonely nights... This collection brings together 101 short stories, each a vivid, self-contained glimpse of love. Some are sweet, some bittersweet, some absurd, and some healing. Together, they capture the excitement —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 141 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
- 142 Riding the Bus Across China 坐公交车游遍全中国 With a humorous, witty touch, this story travels through city after city, offering not only mouthwatering food and breathtaking scenery, but also all kinds of laugh-out-loud mishaps. On the bus, there are enthusiastic drivers and entertaining passengers, and every experience is full of fun. What's your most memorable travel experience? Was it a little incident along the way, or a special memory of a particular place? Let's enjoy the wonders and beauty of life on this journey and share our storie 12Reads—Score—14d adds
- 143 There’s a Rainbow in the Sky After the Rain 雨后的天空有彩虹 When the college entrance exams were reinstated, Zheng Hongmei left her three-year-old son, Wenge, behind in the countryside. Wenge always dreamed of studying hard, getting into college, and finding his mother. Fifteen years later, on the very first day his adoptive father took him to college, he ran into her. His mother was a professor at the university, but he no longer recognized her. His adoptive father was the one who told him she was his mother. But his mother coldly told him not to distur 1.9kReads—Score12714d adds
- 144 The Mangroves and Lychee Fragrance Bay 红树林与荔香湾 [Troubled families + drifting careers + tangled romances + unpredictable personalities + tragedy] [A realist tragedy! Readers looking for feel-good wish fulfillment, stay away.] A group of young people who chose the wrong majors and ended up in the wrong fields! In reality, ideals beckon; in pursuit of ideals, reality pulls you back. How do you reconcile the two? Is a person’s misfortune caused by their circumstances, their personality, or fate? Two young women stood before Wu Yifan. Anxious and 10Reads—Score—14d adds
- 145 A Heart Unwilling to Give In 不甘的心 Some say that when God created humanity, He split each person in two: one half stayed in the mortal world, while the other was kept for Himself. Each was left to search among the crowds for the missing half of their own self. When faced with choices in an uncertain world, we always do everything we can to save the heart that refuses to give in. At the summit, we long to become wholly ourselves, perfectly united and standing tall amid the mundane realities of life. That defiant heart cries out: G 1Reads—Score—14d adds
- 146 Ma Dao's Failed Attempt 马稻不成功 In the eyes of refined scholars, the countryside is a place of poetry and picturesque dreams, a source of inspiration for verse and visions of faraway places. But for those born and raised there, it means the weary lot of facing the earth from dawn till dusk, and the countless absurdities that accumulate over the years. The ugly faces forged by hardship, the secrets hidden before the sun sets: Ma Dao handles them all with ease! 3Reads—Score—14d adds
- 147 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
- 148 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
- 149 The Awakening of a Middle-Aged Woman 一个中年女人的觉醒 [Family of Origin vs. the Fortress of Marriage] Chen Qingchen, an only child, is madly in love. She steals her household register and marries Lin Jiaxin, a man from a poor family who has made it on his own, unaware of what awaits her: a sharp-tongued mother-in-law who makes her life difficult, her father’s sudden death, her mother being forced out of the home, and underhanded attacks at work. When she hits rock bottom, two women become her lifelines. Her tough mother stands firmly behind her, wh 7.8kReads8.5Score75014d adds
- 150 Her Walled-In World 她的围城 This book is based on a true story. It's not a wish-fulfillment novel, and it is slow-paced. In the 1990s, Jing An gets married. Unsure yet hopeful about marriage, she endures her in-laws' schemes and her sister-in-law's attempts to drive a wedge between her and her husband. At last, she and Jiuguang make it through their difficult adjustment period, and she thinks a brighter future is finally within reach. But that light is stolen by another woman. And so begins a battle of schemes and rivalr 29kReads9.2Score79114d adds
