Novels like 1981: An Ordinary Man Drifts Abroad
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as 1981: An Ordinary Man Drifts Abroad, best match first.
- 1 Reborn in the 1980s: I’m Going to Become a God 重生80之我要封神 In 1981, the first wave of self-funded students went abroad to strike it rich. After returning home, he stirs up the nation, leverages his informational advantage, and sets out to reap the rewards. From financial battles to a breakneck real estate boom... 1.7kReads8.1Score10514d adds
- 2 Reborn in 1980: Treasure Hunting in Hong Kong 重生1980：从香港寻宝开始 [Wits and strategy + ambitious antihero + ruthless decisiveness + takes off after five chapters] (The original title is Reborn in 1980: Treasure Hunting in Hong Kong. The other titles are promotional names.) In 1980, Lin Xiaohu heard that Hong Kong was paved with gold, so he crossed the Pearl River to hunt for treasure! Starting out as a street thug, Lin Xiaohu climbs the ranks step by step and builds Hong Kong’s largest transnational crime syndicate. But then he discovers that the woman he trus 4.1kReads8.8Score20914d adds
- 3 Swimming Across Hong Kong to Find My Fortune 游水香江去找钱 In the late 1970s, in a small village north of Yuecheng, Wang Ziqian was forced to join two friends in fleeing to Hong Kong as they pursued their fortune. He struggled to survive amid the turbulent tides of Hong Kong, moving from one industry to another, and ultimately became a business magnate. 5.9kReads7.6Score24314d adds
- 4 Reborn in Hong Kong: I Want to Become a Land Baron 重生香江要做大地主 [Satisfying power fantasy] + [self-serving and willing to harm others] + [cunning] + [power behind the scenes] + [Villain] Zhong Tianwen came from the mainland to Hong Kong with just one goal: to become a small-time businessman. It was a fine ambition, but things rarely go as planned. As the tides of a great era swept everything along, did changing times make heroes, or did heroes shape their times? PS: The story moves at a measured pace and prioritizes logical consistency. 4.6kReads6.8Score17814d adds
- 5 A Century-Old Family Rises to Power, Starting in Hong Kong Island 家族百年，从港岛开始崛起 Rebirth + business warfare + making money + strategic planning + period setting + fast-paced + wild imagination Reborn in 1977! In this life, his father becomes the world's shipping king, and he has a wealth of information about the future in his mind. With a thunderous strike, he seizes Kowloon Wharf. Without spilling a drop of blood, he acquires Hutchison Whampoa. Striking from behind, he wrests away Wheelock. There are no Four Great Families and no Four Great Trading Houses. In Hong Kong, 8.1kReads7.9Score36514d adds
- 6 Reborn in Hong Kong, Building a World-Class Financial Empire 重生香江，打造世界顶级财阀 [Business Wars + Tycoon Fantasy + Building a Financial Dynasty] Reborn in 1970s Hong Kong, with millions in family assets inherited from the start. Short stocks, trade gold, enter real estate, and establish an international security company. Watch as Zhang Qing transforms a minor family into a world-class conglomerate spanning Asia, Europe, and the Americas, with businesses in finance, real estate, media, energy, communications, luxury goods, the internet, the military industry, and much more! —Reads—Score—14d adds
- 7 Hong Kong Island's Turmoil: First, I Made a Killing in U.S. Stocks and Raked in Billions 港岛风云，先爆美股狂刮百亿 [Satisfying read + business battles and getting rich] Xu Li transmigrates to Hong Kong Island in 1987! He opens his eyes in the middle of a gangland vendetta, then earns his first fortune through a pig-butchering scam and rakes in tens of billions. From there, he can't stop, building a trillion-dollar fortune. Buying handbags, buying jewelry, buying mansions, investing in movies: the entertainment industry is his own backyard. Shorting stocks and trading futures: the financial markets are his pe 8.5kReads6.2Score41114d adds
- 8 Reborn in 2008: Making a Trillion in Seconds and Rising in Hong Kong 重生08，秒赚千亿崛起香江 The 2008 financial crisis hits. That year, real estate prices on the mainland soar! The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong plunges! Qin Fei gets another chance at life. Seizing the moment, he rides the wave, all for the sake of changing his sister's fate. In his past life, he trampled over countless corpses to amass a fortune of hundreds of billions of dollars! This time, he can do even better. No one can stop him from making money. Rising to prominence in Hong Kong, he turns the tide, invests in Beis 8.3kReads6.9Score46114d adds
- 9 King of Hong Kong: It All Started When I Dug Up My Ancestors' Graves 香江之王从挖了祖坟开始 The story of Zhou Dada, reborn in 1967, digging up gold coins buried beneath a tree in his ancestral graveyard and heading to Hong Kong. This book isn't full of schemes, tricks, showing off, or face-slapping. It simply tells the story of how the protagonist makes money in Hong Kong, starts companies, dates actresses, acquires foreign companies, builds up his influence, and becomes the king of Hong Kong Island. The protagonist is young and handsome, but also a cowardly, secretly romantic womanize 6.3kReads7.0Score22414d adds
- 10 Back to 2006: Becoming the God of Investing 重返2006，成为投资之神 Qin Feng returns to his college days. He earns his first fortune by investing in stocks. With his foresight, he turns the financial world upside down. He orchestrates the subprime mortgage crisis, reshaping the global financial order. He revives the lithography industry and turns the tide. He gets ahead of the curve in new energy, overtakes rivals on the bend, and completely frees the country from dependence on oil. On his own, Qin Feng ushers in the age of intelligence, monopolizes cutting-edge 6.3kReads8.5Score42514d adds
- 11 Showbiz: An Actor's Rise from Stunt Double to Film Emperor 娱乐，从武替开始的影帝之路 [Entertainment + Superstar + No System + Traditional + Kung Fu] He was Yang Guo's double in The Return of the Condor Heroes, He was the cold-blooded killer John in Kill Zone, He was Murong Fu, a royal descendant of the Yan Kingdom, in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, He was the worn-out middle-aged man in The Big Man, He was the agent brother in The Hurricane Heist, He was the retired assassin John Tang in Speedy Pursuit, He was a new-generation Chinese kung fu star... 7.5kReads8.7Score50314d adds
- 12 Laying Plans Behind the Scenes: My Subordinates Take Turns Being Billionaires 幕后布局，我的手下轮流当首富 [Reborn + Period Drama + Family Life + Conquering Global Markets + Hidden Tycoon + Multiple Heroines] Also known as Reborn in the Early Eighties: Building a Fortune and Living a Colorful Life In plain terms: Some call him Big Brother, some call him an academician, and some call him a university trustee. Others hail him as a business leader, while some believe he’s the most powerful person in the world. None of these labels is quite accurate, because each is only one of his many identities. Rebor 5kReads8.6Score33114d adds
- 13 Reborn, I Became the King of the Capital Behind the Scenes! 重生后，我成为了幕后资本之王！ Armed with several decades of memories from the future, Huang Feiyang returns to 2001, the year he turned eighteen. Millions in “pocket money” from the start? A family conglomerate waiting for him to inherit it? Huang Feiyang: “Then I’ll take the road everyone else has taken and leave them with nowhere to go!” The internet? Gaming? Technology? Finance? And more... Only children make choices. I want it all! In this life, I’ll lead Huaxia to the top of the world! My goal is the stars and the sea! 16.5kReads8.4Score99314d adds
- 14 Reborn in 1985 重生在一九八五 Wu Tianyu never imagined that he could be reborn too. He had read countless rebirth novels and dreamed of getting a second life himself. Now it had really happened, and he was back in the 1980s, in the early days of China's reform and opening up. 18kReads9.1Score1k14d adds
- 15 Reborn in 1960: Bankrupting Hong Kong Island's Tycoons 重生1960：把港岛富豪搞破产 Reborn in 1960, Lin Chaozong starts by reselling discarded canned goods. Before long, he’s building an empire and making it bigger and stronger. He crushes Li Chaoren, abolishes shared-area housing fees, acquires British-owned companies, and builds a business dynasty. Years later, Lin Chaozong gives an interview and says, “I’m just an honest businessman. I don’t know how I ended up becoming the richest man in the world. I guess it must be luck!” 11.9kReads9.0Score70114d adds
- 16 Starting in 2008, I Took Over the Whole World 从2008开始收割全世界 I woke up to find myself back in 2008, at the age of eighteen, inheriting a fortune worth tens of billions from the start. Yang Chen: “With decades of future memories, making money should be as easy as lifting a finger, right?” “That year, I walked with my hands in my pockets. I didn’t even know what a rival was!” “I have two rules in business: first, I never rip off my fellow countrymen. Second, I rip off foreigners for all they’re worth!” “I’ve been reborn, so taking a little from the whole wo 27.2kReads8.9Score1.8k14d adds
- 17 Hong Kong Crossover: The Ultimate Smuggler 港综：最强大捞家 In the world of Hong Kong Island, the Money Empire era has just ended. The four great detectives are long gone, and the underworld is in turmoil. The mighty tide of a new age surges in. He Wenyao, who has lived two lives, travels from north to south, crossing the sea to arrive. When the bells of the new century ring out and Lighthouse magazine asks its question, he looks around and finds no equal in the world. 62.6kReads9.3Score4.1k14d adds
- 18 I Opened My Eyes and Returned to the Day My Wife Had a Difficult Labor 睁开眼，回到老婆难产当天 Short dramas: When I Opened My Eyes, It Was the Day My Wife Went Into Difficult Labor; 1988: Reborn to Protect My Wife and Children Early story: farming and business. Later: heading to Ula to trade for equipment, then selling guns, cannons, planes, tanks, and firecrackers printed with our very own dollars (starts at chapter 330). If you had the chance to be reborn, what regret would you make up for? The moment Si Chen opened his eyes, he found himself back on the day his wife went into difficu 19.1kReads9.3Score2k14d adds
- 19 Reborn: I Became an Export Tycoon 重生后：我成了出口大亨 Have you ever read a novel about rare earths? Well, this is one. Rebirth, System, technology, science, industry, the internet, rare earths, strengthening the nation, richest man, the 1980s, national destiny, manufacturing, agriculture, deserts, the Yellow River, the Yarlung Tsangpo River This book is complete. The author's new book, Four-House Courtyard, is premiering on Fanqie. It has the same satisfying pace as ever, so come read and follow along! 5.1kReads8.5Score34814d adds
- 20 Reborn in Hong Kong, With a Huge Family Business 重生港岛，家大业大 [Blood-Soaked Conglomerate | Global Hunt | Six Industrial Empires] In 1980, Shao Weiding opened his eyes and found himself the most rebellious of the six young masters of the Shao Group. Everyone laughed at him for turning his back on a fortune worth tens of billions and risking his life in Southeast Asia instead Then, three years later, they watched him smash open a Swiss bank vault with his bloodstained Rolex and propel the Swatch Group to the very top! When Watsons swept across Asia's retail 38.7kReads9.3Score2.1k14d adds
- 21 You’ve Got to Be Kidding: A Tang Dynasty Assassin Taking the College Entrance Exam 没搞错吧我一个大唐刺客参加高考 A Tang Dynasty assassin has just beheaded a military governor, only to open his eyes as a hopeless high school senior! He spent the first half of his life relying on a swift blade. Now he has to battle trigonometry? With just 100 days left until the college entrance exam, what’s an assassin like me supposed to do? And just as the turmoil is still unfolding, he learns that his beautiful master has transmigrated from the Tang Dynasty too… 387Reads8.1Score—14d adds
- 22 Writing Self-Help in America, I Become the Nation's Choice for President 人在鹰酱写鸡汤，全民求我当总统 Tang Darcy transmigrates to America and becomes a sheriff. He activates the Influencer System: all he has to do is write toxic inspirational quotes and cultivate influencers to earn rewards. How hard can that be? He fires off all kinds of self-contradictory quotes to fool foreigners: “America, Please Wait for Your People!” “Don't Make America Great Again! Give the Little People Their Dignity!” “Why Does China Wash Its Dishes Seven Times?!” The more foreigners he fools, the more buffs the System 15.9kReads9.6Score2.1k14d adds
- 23 How a Village Girl Became a Bad Woman 一个山村女孩如何成坏女人的 How a Village Girl Became a Bad Woman 93Reads—Score—14d adds
- 24 A Story About a Beautiful CEO Beneath a Ginkgo Tree 银杏树下的一个美女总裁的故事 The story of a beautiful CEO beneath a ginkgo tree 75Reads—Score—14d adds
- 25 The Original Sin of Kindness 善良的原罪 The Original Sin of Kindness 43Reads—Score—14d adds
- 26 Will History Repeat Itself? No, This Time I’ll Restore My Kingdom 悲剧重演？不，我这次一定要复国 This novel tells the story of Murong Fu transmigrating to different worlds to accomplish his mission of restoring his kingdom. The first world so far: Murong Fu transmigrates into Viserys III Targaryen, the beggar king! The second series features the Eighth Prince in the world of Yongzheng. 1.6kReads8.0Score10114d adds
- 27 The Savage Bandit of the Great Wilderness 大荒悍匪 Everyone knows that the Classic of Mountains and Seas is actually a cookbook. Transmigrate across mountains and seas, and stew a Kunpeng with a phoenix, or cook a Zhujian with a black tortoise. In the demon wasteland, the countless great demons are dangers to everyone else, but Zhang Chu sees them as food. One bite of demon meat doubles his strength. One sip of demon blood sends his cultivation soaring. From then on, Zhang Chu goes farther and farther along the path of cultivating by eating demo 102.9kReads9.0Score7.1k14d adds
- 28 A Beauty’s Scheme for the Realm 红颜谋天下 [Mystery]+ [Multiple Heroines]+ [No Transmigration]+ [No Golden Finger]+ [Alternate Fantasy World]+ [If It's Not Your Thing, Please Don't Complain] An imperial edict of marriage sends the icy, beautiful female general Murong Xue storming into the residence with a sword. Turmoil erupts in the Song household's rear court, while strange butterfly shadows from the Xuanming Cult appear, concealing a shocking conspiracy that could overturn the world. As one beauty after another gets drawn into the gam 63Reads—Score—14d adds
- 29 A Spring Dream Takes Me to Ancient Times: I Become a Workaholic in Dayin 春梦穿古我在大胤当卷王 [Mystery]+ [Multiple Heroines]+ [Transmigration]+ [Golden Finger]+ [Alternate Fantasy World]+ [If It's Not Your Thing, Please Don't Complain] Just because he begged his goddess for a hug in a romantic dream, Lu Xiaochuan was kicked straight into a river in the Great Yin dynasty, launching his mortifying Transmigration adventure! The moment he climbs ashore, he's branded a suspect in the Witchcraft Cult case. He lets slip what he said in his sleep, then reveals the secret that he once saw a celes 45Reads—Score—14d adds
- 30 Wang, the Northeastern Guy in the Women's Dorm, Don't Panic 女工宿舍楼里东北汉子老王你别慌 Wang Xinyan is a strapping Northeastern man, tall and broad-shouldered. But because his mother loved watching romance dramas, she gave him a feminine name. After graduating from college, that name got him assigned not only to a female factory-worker position, but also to a dorm room on the women's floor… 1.3kReads8.5Score—14d adds
- 31 Cultivating the Great Dao in a Human Classroom 我在人间课堂修大道 Cultivation? Pah! I just want to spend my days with the campus beauty, enjoying the simple pleasures of life and living it to the fullest. Is that too much to ask? And of course, I wouldn't mind having a few more beauties around either… 87Reads—Score—14d adds
- 32 One Sword to Slay the Fairer Sex 一剑斩红粉 [Urban Martial Arts]+ [Traditional Cultivation]+ [Multiple Heroines] Lin Che, young master of an ancient martial arts family in the city, was framed and killed in his previous life while enjoying himself beneath the peonies. His lover, a minor internet celebrity close to him, had joined forces with his family's sworn enemy to set him up. His path to being reborn is also a path to rising to power… 369Reads8.5Score—14d adds
- 33 After Succeeding in Cultivation, I Transmigrated to Earth to Farm 修仙有成却穿越到地球种田 [Cultivation]+ [Farming]+ [Multiple Heroines]+ [Transmigration]+ [Golden Finger]+ [Alternate Fantasy World]+ [If It's Not Your Thing, Please Don't Complain] Chen Xing, an immortal with a spirit body from the Ziling Sect, had cultivated to the peak of the continent. Just as he was reveling in a life of pleasure with six beautiful concubines, the Trial of Worldly Desires struck. His soul transmigrated into the body of a young man with the same name on Earth, who had died after slipping and falling 103Reads—Score—14d adds
- 34 I Don’t Want This Kind of Rebirth 这样的重生我不想要啊 Being reborn isn't about having an easy, satisfying life. It's about walking the human road again through blood and tears! The hardships I've endured and the burdens I've borne aren't anything to be proud of. I'll just leave them in my memories. A simple, honest life, surrounded by a beloved wife and beautiful companions, is what truly matters... 296Reads—Score—14d adds
- 35 Restarting My Life and Winning Over Several One True Loves 重启人生拐几个白月光 So what if he was rich in his previous life? He couldn't even find his wife and daughter! In this reborn life, he'll protect his family first... A life of wealth and luxury? He wouldn't mind! But the simple pleasures of everyday life are what feel most real! 479Reads—Score—14d adds
- 36 The Merchant’s Road to the West 西部商途 [No System] [No golden finger] [School belle] [Multiple heroines] [The struggle of an ordinary guy] Zhang Bo is a poor kid from the countryside. He doesn’t have much going for him, except that he’s pretty lucky with girls... 391Reads—Score—14d adds
- 37 A Pair of Delicate Red Hands 一双红酥手 Reborn in 1996, I planned to strike it rich with the lottery numbers from the one thing I remembered about my past life. Who knew it would still turn out to be just a dream!!! There are only 98 days left until the college entrance exam, and I’ve forgotten every bit of what I learned in my previous life. What do I do... Fine, I’ll come clean. I just want to be a couch potato, enjoy life with a beautiful wife, and live a quiet little life... This story is entirely fictional. Any similarities are p 12.4kReads9.0Score76514d adds
- 38 Now That I’m Reborn, Who’d Still Run with the Gangsters? 都重生了谁还混社会 Short drama: "Loyal to the Skies: Starting Over" is now streaming The novel was originally titled "Now That I've Been Reborn, Who Would Still Run With Gangs?" [Reborn + business + lots of underlings + no groveling + no cowardice + taking the righteous path + law-abiding] A big shot from the underworld returns to 2010. Should he repeat his old mistakes and keep running with gangs, or abandon his underlings and take the road to a brighter future? No! I won't choose! In this life, I, Qin Jiang, wil 142.8kReads9.3Score14.7k14d adds
- 39 Reborn in 1975: From the Start, I Tore Up the Order to Return to the City 重生1975：开局撕毁回城调令 Zhou Yang, an unrivaled patriot who devoted his whole life to his country, was reborn and returned to the remote mountain village where he had been sent down to work in 1975! Looking at the transfer order in his hand, this time he didn't hesitate. He tore it to shreds! In his previous life, he'd been blinded by greed and abandoned his wife and daughter to return to the city, watching helplessly as Li Youwei and her daughter met tragic deaths. Reborn, all Zhou Yang wanted was a warm home with his 163.2kReads9.5Score18.2k14d adds
- 40 Reborn in 1993: Dark Sea 重生1993，暗海 The physical edition of Wrathful Sea, Calm the Abyss is now available. Presales officially begin at 19:00 on October 11. [Reborn] [Mystery] [Undercover Agent] [Revenge] [Anti-Drug Operations] [Counterespionage] The golden finger is extremely weak, and he relies on his own abilities. This is a battle of wits between highly intelligent opponents, so you need to keep your brain switched on. There is no showing off and face-slapping! Ideal for veteran readers. If you understand it, you'll find it ve 259.5kReads9.6Score30.9k14d adds
- 41 EN From the Start, Immortal for Eternity, Laying Low Until the End of Time 开局长生万古，苟到天荒地老 [Published in print] [Not a wish-fulfillment story + tranquil daily life + lighthearted humor + no female lead + no tragedy + survival expert] Enter with caution. A longevity story told from the perspective of an immortal, spanning several great eras of cultivation. It begins in an ordinary mountain village, moves into a small domain, and then enters the vast world of cultivation, passing through the eras of flourishing development, golden prosperity, the collapse of the rules, the great dark up 515.8kReads9.7Score69.9k14d adds
