Reborn In The ’80s

Description

Links are NOT allowed. Format your description nicely so people can easily read them. Please use proper spacing and paragraphs.

The young single man, Xu Zhao, recently graduated from university and was ready to embark on a major task at his job when he was suddenly transmigrated to the eighties where there was no internet or tv. It would’ve been fine if he had no money, but he unexpectedly had a two-year-old son as well: one he birthed himself.

The son had nothing to wear.

The son had nothing to eat.

The son had no toys to play with.

The son didn’t even have a “daddy.”

How would the son live without him? Xu Zhao decided that he would raise the son.

Associated Names
One entry per line
Reborn in the Eighties to Raise Cubs
RERC
重生八十年代养崽崽
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Back To The Age Of The ’80s (2)
Transmigrating into the Villain’s Sickly Childhood Friend (1)
My Cat And I Both Like You (1)
Good Luck in the Year of the Pig (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. BL Modern Setting Transmigration/Reincarnation
  2. All Novels I've Read Sorted By Rating (3.7 Stars &...
  3. Ger /Mpreg
  4. To read [danmei]
  5. Rebirth/Transmigration _BL

Latest Release

Date Group Release
06/29/23 Lazy Sakura Translations c118
06/22/23 Lazy Sakura Translations c117
06/17/23 Lazy Sakura Translations c116
06/08/23 Lazy Sakura Translations c115
06/01/23 Lazy Sakura Translations c114
05/25/23 Lazy Sakura Translations c113
05/18/23 Lazy Sakura Translations c112
05/11/23 Lazy Sakura Translations c111
05/04/23 Lazy Sakura Translations c110
04/27/23 Lazy Sakura Translations c109
04/25/23 Lazy Sakura Translations c108
04/20/23 Lazy Sakura Translations c107
04/13/23 Lazy Sakura Translations c106
04/06/23 Lazy Sakura Translations c105
03/30/23 Lazy Sakura Translations c104
Go to Page...
Go to Page...
Write a Review
60 Reviews sorted by


Avrohom
Avrohom rated it
August 18, 2022
Status: Completed
It's an excellent story and it is well translated. It's a story of two men in alternative reality China where men marry men and men can give birth so do not be misled by the '80s word in its title. None of it is real 1980's in real China.

... more>>
Spoiler

The two men have s*x by mistake when both were drunk then one continues his life of extreme poverty until he dies and another builds a successful nationwide transportation company from scratch. The poor man gets a second lease on life due to transmigration and builds his farming business from scratch. They meet fall in love and marry. Two kids one of whom has an eating disorder, or the author makes it look so. Every chapter we are forced to read about his gluttony and fatness and his pipi, testicles or butt. End of story.

[collapse]

It is a very well written and charming story, five stars, until ch 90 or so. Then it loses its charm completely. All things that made it great were abandoned by the author. Maybe she does not know how to write about success and happiness, I do not know, bit I had to take one star off for the underwhelming last third of the story. <<less
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
trash_generalist
trash_generalist rated it
August 15, 2022
Status: Completed
(Updated: 2nd Reread - 02/26/2023) Childcare and Poor-to-Rich Slice of Life novel! This is my second time reading it and I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time I read it. Back then, I read it till the end and gave it a 3.6/5 rating. My impression is still the same now (though I raised the rating to 3.75/5. I think this novel is a very good, short and fluffy novel. It's quite simple and some parts are handled kind of clumsily, but it hit... more>> all the important points and delivers some pretty good feels.

___________

SUMMARY: MC (Xu Zhao) transmigrates into the 1980s as a young single father with a 2yo son. He finds himself in pretty dire straights: having recently dropped out of school, a too-thin baby, unsupportive older brothers, and no money in sight. But, soon enough, he finds some use of his modern sensibilities in order to make a name for himself and improve his and his son's livelihoods. The ML (Cui Dingchen) comes into the picture pretty early as the mysterious youngest uncle of the schoolmate that first helps MC off of his feet.

___________

THOUGHTS: The main focus of the novel is the poor-to-rich and childcare aspect. MC has to raise his new 2yo son while striving to make some money. Fortunately, the 80s is rich with opportunities! The novel is pretty chill and down-to-earth. Perhaps not the most exciting nor the most realistic. The author admits to some questionable choices as well in terms of character development and set-up. But, if you're looking for a fun, casual read with not to many ups and downs, then this is a good one to consider! [NOTE: The TL is not finished but the MTL is readable. The author writes very simply, and it shows in the MTL, which is more coherent than most. I'd say that it is about... 75% readable, whereas most MTL is around the 60% range.]

___________

CHARACTERS: 8.5/10

Xu Zhao (MC)

A gentle and hardworking man. His personality is very chill and down-to-earth. At first, he's a little dumbfounded by his new circumstances, but he adapts pretty quickly. A little too knowledgeable in certain areas, the author doesn't explain his background much. But overall, he's very likeable.

Cui Dingchen (ML)

Stoic and distant at first, but he warms up to both the MC and his son soon enough.
Spoiler

The author starts laying down foundations for him being the little baby's father pretty early, so~

[collapse]

Xu Fan

A show-stealer! The son of the MC~ He's only 2yo in the beginning but he's portrayed quite smart and adorable. Loyal to the MC to a fault, but also very similar to the ML.

___________

ROMANCE: 7.5/10

The romance in this novel is quite simple. Maybe mature is the better description? The MC is 21 at the start and the ML is 28. With a child between them, it's all about stability, not passion and big confessions. I thought it was quite sweet~ but it's undoubtedly more low-key than most.

___________

SETTING: 5/10

The setting is the 80s, but its ambigously so. I guess the 80s were a tricky time. If it were the 70s, then the setting would probably pay more of a factor. Here, the setting was mostly just to allow the MC to be able to make money. So, it doesn't feature much. Oh, and this is also a fantasy setting where menxmen is accepted (and men can give birth to children), so the BL aspect doesn't have much to do with the setting either. It's just accepted as a matter of course.

___________

PLOT: 7.5/10

This is definitely a slice of life story. We see the life of a single father working hard for his son and falling in love along the way. The pacing starts off very slow, before accelerating near the end.

___________

RATING: 3.75/5

Seems like a low rating but it's pretty high for me. Putting it into words, I'd say the novel is slightly better than average. A bit imperfect, but enjoyable to read regardless. I'm looking forward to rereading it when the TL is down in the future! (As mentioned, the first rating was 3.6, but I gave it an additional 1.5 now, making it 3.75/5 because I thought that the novel did a pretty good job delivering on a very simple but fluffy family-feels novel). <<less
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
AethIcamen
AethIcamen rated it
June 28, 2022
Status: c49
Currently on Chapter 49 and will be this when I've finished reading this.

I kinda agree with other's sentiment that you cannot feel the ML. The ML is not the pushy type so his character lack scenes. But if he appeared, he will help MC with the little things that he cannot do/have. I think he is nice. A supportive type. It's just that his POV lacks so many people doesn't really want it. If you are a type who doesn't want anyone interfere with what they are doing, you will... more>> love this type of ML. He do things subtly and as the story progress I hope that he will keep on hinting MC that if he needs help, he can ask ML anytime and MC should not be pressured by it (because he already did it on c48 if I am not mistaken.)

I just hate the fact that there are supporting characters that do not have a name even if the MC is asking for their help everytime. Like, author-san, please give them name and don't refer them as *child name*'s father/mother. 😭😭😭 Will vote 4 stars for now. <<less
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Kaylee
Kaylee rated it
February 7, 2022
Status: c25
It was good. Almost all the parts were abt Xu Fan, the 4yo kid always following his dad, Xu Zhao the MC, to work and wherever he went. With enough money, skill set and his 21th century's mindset MC slowly could escape the poverty life. The son was a chatterbox, lovable, papa's boy, foodie, smart and subtle in asking what he couldnt ask. I feel, the son became the 2nd main character lol

ML seemed cold and distance when they're just acquaintance of his nephew. After he wanted to... more>> get close with MC, we can see how ML treated them differently.

In the last 20 chapters, the author introduced new characters as the designated villain and continued to the comatose MC plot. These were too out of the plot line and cliche for me. And not written with logic. The villain or the love rival only showed up now. Where was he when ML was chasing mc? And a half a month comatose patient who had injury could walk hour after he woke up. After 1day checking in hospital the next day he discharged, went home to rest for a day. The next day he could get to work again.

If I ignore the last plot, it still be okay. Still a nice transmigration story. <<less
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Ri Hikaru
Ri Hikaru rated it
January 21, 2022
Status: Completed
Overall great read and extremely cute. Just my preference, but I wish he used his knowledge of future events a bit more and created more monopoly in business like the other 80s one no matter how unrealistic it is.
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Rinkyx
Rinkyx rated it
July 5, 2021
Status: Completed
I'm loving this so far. I really hope MTL adds this so I can read ahead lol

I'm giving this a 5 ⭐️And once finished I'll come back to give a update. MC is a calm protagonist so far and the kid is adorbs. Can't wait to read more!

Aug 5 2021 update:

I liked the novel overall. The last part of the novel dragged on for a long time though.
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Neollle
Neollle rated it
May 30, 2021
Status: Completed
The story is actually good overall, there isn’t much drama and the romance kinda slow but, when they actually found out how they feel, they got together.

The baby is freaking adorable and acts like an actual baby unlike other mpreg novels. It is good and actually worth read for me.
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Diiina
Diiina rated it
April 21, 2025
Status: c148
I was actually ready to watch a single dad push through. But the matters of a "more" complete family were well done. The emotions and communication between the MC and ML, as well as the transition of the family. ... more>>
Spoiler

minus points for "jealous dad" pushing away the kid for alone time or treating the kid as nuisance.

[collapse]
Anyway, I love the writing of childcare and the effort to make sense of the supernatural (transmigration). But the male pregnancy felt more of a convenience. It's just funny how our MC is the only male capable of pregnancy yet the author chooses to explain the transmigration part. Overall an adorable family. Wholesome and mildly exasperating on my end, who has little energy to handle stubborn kids. He is adorable, yes. Very witty. No truer words than "didn't know whether to laugh or cry".

Spoiler

the author still shows that big daddy way of loving his son in general tho, which makes the "jealous against son" trope less annoying and more wholesome... coz come on, that's his kid.

[collapse]
<<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
BeneathAHibiscusCanopysWarmth
BeneathAHibiscusCanopysWarmth rated it
April 15, 2025
Status: Completed
Plot Quality: 3/5

Entertainment Value: 4/5

A nice, comedic story about overcoming adversities for the sake of your family. I was honest planning to give this a 5/5 in Entertainment Value, but a plot point near the end really frustrated me 🫠

General Story

... more>>
Spoiler

The MC transmigrates into a person from a poor family. On top of this, he has a 2-year-old son to take care of. The MC then strives to take his family out of poverty by doing business. The business plot lines are okay. The real highlight of the story are the characters and the comedy.

The MC is a gentle person who cares for his new family even though he technically doesn't know them. The ML's character is quite hollow. He doesn't even have any friends that we know of. Still, he's very sincere to the MC and he does try hard to love the MC's child even before they discover that the ML was actually the kid's biological father.

[collapse]

That One Plot Point I Hate

Spoiler

The story itself is just ok. The MC does encounter hardships, which inevitably lead to face-slapping. However, these scenes are not usually the crux of the story. Most of the plot was about how the MC builds his business and helps his family and friends while trying to raise his son well.

The plot point that irritated me, near the end, was with the ML's ex. Basically, the OG MC and ML had a one night stand which led to the MC getting pregnant (the actual MC has not yet transmigrates into the story at this point). The OG MC ran away without even looking at the ML's face. When they were doing it, he thought he was sleeping with the classmate he had a crush on, so he was ashamed to realize he had actually slept with someone else.

The ML, who had also not seen the MC's face clearly, tried to find the person he slept with. One of the MC's classmates falsely claimed to be the one who slept with the ML. Although the ML didn't like the classmate, he felt guilty and took responsibility by taking care of that classmate for 4 years. They weren't technically dating, the ML just paid for his education and gave him lots of expensive gifts (even a house!). He even personally drove him to school and found him a good job.

After the ML met the MC, he decided to stop taking care of that classmate. However, the classmate remained obsessed with him because he didn't want to lose the ML's support.

Throughout all this, the MC went on a blind date with a different classmate (let's call him Suitor to avoid confusion). The MC rejected him since Suitor planned to leave the MC's son with the MC's parents to raise. The MC was horrified since he of course wants to stay with his son. However, Suitor remained obsessed with MC. He even contacted the OG MC's crush during their school days + the classmate who used to "date" the ML. Suitor even told the MC that the ML was probably only using him as a substitute for the classmate, the same way the OG MC's old crush only took an interest in the OG MC because he couldn't get the classmate. The MC actually believed this for a bit before the ML went to his house and got him to confess why he's been upset the past few days.

The ML pieces together that the MC was actually the person he slept with years ago. He went to the classmate's house and tells him that he WILL get revenge on him for lying.

The MC's brain cells continued to deteriorate throughout this plot point. He runs into the classmate on the street. The classmate kept accusing him of stealing the ML. The MC was with his son, so he concocted a plan: his son would go to the police station and draw the attention of the police. Then, MC would provoke the classmate. After the police sees the classmate harassing the MC, he would be arrested yayyyy.

f*cking s*upid right? The classmate did bully the OG MC while at school, but the MC has never cared about that before. Why tf would he risk being harmed just so the classmate could be arrested? Mind you, the whole plan HINGED on him being harmed. Otherwise, if the police only saw the classmate yelling at MC, he would get a slap on the wrist at most.

Guess what happened? The classmate went crazy and hit the MC on the head with a brick. The MC actually went into a coma and caused great trouble for his poor family.

Surely, the author could have thought of a better way for main couple to realize that the ML is actually the father of the MC's son.

The MC has been smart for most of the plot. He hasn't thought of getting revenge on ANYONE. Yet he willingly risked being harmed just so the classmate can be threatened by the police.

The ML has also been smart for most of the plot, yet his dumb ass couldn't tie up loose ends with the classmate properly. Since he knew the truth, why tf did he go and threaten the classmate if he didn't plan setting protective measures for his own family? Did he think the classmate would never try to harm him, the MC, or their son even after he's taken revenge on the classmate?

[collapse]

another thing...

Spoiler

The author kept making jokes about the MC's son flashing people his g**itals since his clothes were so old / torn. One time is fine, whatever, but that bit kept cropping up. The MC's son would either wear old pants or forget to wear bottoms since he's just woken up, then someone will make fun of him since his "little peepee" is visible. Weird. I'm not saying the son is being sexualized, I'm just pointing out how weird it is to frequently joke about a 3-year-old child's g**itals being visible.

[collapse]
<<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Chirpchirp
Chirpchirp rated it
December 20, 2024
Status: c70
I’ve read the novel and I don’t think the kid is as bad as comments said. He is maybe a bit annoying but this is how a small kid really is (although the author did write the part where he want to eat everything a bit too much)

but this novel is so much more than this little kid. I like how the MC starting and doing business and the romance isn’t bad either

I was bias before reading this novel because some comments say that the kid was a bear... more>> child but he was actually sensible and stayed true to his age. Like what the author said it’s about preference some may think XuFan is annoying while others people like Cui grandpa and grandma will love Xu Fan. <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
lavacookiez1004
lavacookiez1004 rated it
June 27, 2024
Status: Completed
Super cute. One review found the kids annoying but for me, I came to this novel for the child raising and xu Zhao is a great dad. Furthermore the kids are cute and convincing. Not every kid should be a child genius lol. These little dudes act and speak like the little kids I’m familiar with
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Rinmoyi
Rinmoyi rated it
June 4, 2024
Status: Completed
Translation was bit lacking, but overall the plot was okay. More like a predictable slice of life (⁠・⁠o⁠・⁠)

MC was hard working & dependable. He changed his life with his own effort. ML was mature; kinda perfect for MC. ¯⁠⁠_⁠ (⁠ツ⁠) ⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Many said 2nd ML was a good match for MC but what's important that whom MC like, as MC probably wouldn't have liked 2nd ML who was more like a subordinate to him. MC was alone in his life & self depended, so he psychologically he would like someone... more>> whom he can depend on, understand & support him. So what ML said in later was absolutely right. ML deal with it like an adult. ᕙ⁠ (⁠⇀⁠‸⁠↼⁠‶⁠) ⁠ᕗ And the child, I did felt annoyed with him at some point. He was too clingy too foodie too narcissist too illogical too unrealistic. Maybe same thing happened with ML as he felt same about the kid. But as you know a child is always good in his parents eyes. No matter how one doesn't like kids he would still like it if its his own.ᕙ⁠ (⁠ ⁠¤⁠ ⁠〰⁠ ⁠¤⁠ ⁠) ⁠ᕗ

So you can enjoy if don't use logic in the novel.ʕ⁠ ⁠º⁠ ⁠ᴥ⁠ ⁠º⁠ʔ <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
HoneyMilk180
HoneyMilk180 rated it
May 1, 2024
Status: c102
Spoiler

honestly I prefer cui qingfeng as the ML rather than his youngest uncle. There are more personality in qingfeng and I would prefer them falling in love while building their business together. But oh well the moment the uncle appeared and the author used up 1 whole paragraph just to explain what clothes he is wearing its basically game over for qingfeng. Bro on the others hand has introduction of 1 sentence. "He is highschool friend of the body" RIP.

I really would prefer a kinda dumb ML that isnt goddamn rich but still enthusiastic in earning money and supporting MC rather than a godlike cold genius ML. Its a cliche relationship to add to already too cliche story.

But I do have to give credit where it is due. I like how the author didn't go for the everyone in MC family other than his son is bastard route. MC also didnt have a golden hand and his business reasoning is quite realistic. Idk about the mooncake part but others is okay.

[collapse]

The child is ok. Its not realistically portrait but isnt so annoying to me. There wasnt much depth and personality to the child too other than being a glutton and clingy to his dad. Other side characters also very 2 dimensional. If you want a light read with not so much problem and conflict this is the choice for you. There are no complex characters and plot. So if you want to turn off your brain while reading you absolutely could
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
ntww12
ntww12
April 18, 2024
Status: --
Honestly I enjoyed this story a lot. Its a rags to riches type of story with a strong and smart MC. His progression to making his life better was really enjoyable to me and didn't seem too boring. The family drama that occurs wasn't too annoying as well and was solved very quickly. Most of the storyline is about him working, meeting the ML, slow burn romance, and childcare with a cute baby. The extras were also fun to read. I just wanted to say that I found the ML... more>> to be a better choice than the supposed 2nd ML candidate (his nephew). I know many reviewers mentioned that they prefer the 2nd ML due to more chemistry but to me I felt the opposite. The nephew is not very smart and relied a lot on MC to expand his business. Later on with cooperation things did get better for the both of them. I just think that MC works really hard to support his family and I think he deserves someone he can lean on like the final ML. The nephew can give support, sure but he did doubt MC a lot in the beginning and may do so if MC has other super bold ideas. I just don't feel he is a good fit for the MC. ML is supportive and can help carry MC's burdens.

Despite other reviews mentioning that Sanwa was annoying, I didn't find the baby annoying at all and he was so CUTE! His narcissim is just such a funny detail to me and makes his personality more vibrant instead of "genius baby" like many other novels. He is written appropriately aged too, not too super intelligent and a naughty toddler. Very fitting for his age. <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Namtree08
Namtree08 rated it
March 12, 2024
Status: Completed
I liked this novel a lot it had all the elements that I like, the kid was so cute but I am sure I wouldn't be able to rise him cuz he talks too much hahha.
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Bookster
Bookster
March 6, 2024
Status: c65
MC: Xu Zhao

ML: Cui Ding Chen

It is a Time Travel, Cub Raising, Getting Rich, Yaoi with a little Romance.

It is mainly about life of MC and his son and his parents improving. MC did some business to earn money. The Romance is quite slow paced here.

... more>>
Spoiler

Original owner got accidentally pregnant (by ML I think) and drops out of school. He has a timid personality and didn't like his son very much. When his sister-in-law tells everyone in the village that MC gave birth to a child himself out of wedlock, he jumps and dies after drowning in a river. P.S. It is not a MPreg world type, MC was just special.

[collapse]
<<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
honeypeach
honeypeach rated it
February 23, 2024
Status: Completed
I was so interested reading the synopsis so I picked it up, and wow it truly so fun to read. I really love MC and his son interactions, they're so adorable! ꉂꉂ (ᴖᗜᴖ*) The romance between MC and ML is slowburn, but the entire story didn't boring at all, the setting feels like they bring me back to the 80s era too. I just finished the novel but I already miss Xu Sanwa : (he's truly so cute and (adorably) annoying XD love him
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Oracle99
Oracle99 rated it
December 12, 2023
Status: Completed
DON'T READ THIS!!!

ITS FOR MY OWN FUTURE REREAD

... more>>
Spoiler

My first impression is that the son is super adorable.. The 'original character' drowned so MC got into his body, when he's awake, the first thing that he notice is that he had a son, so he struggle to make end meets. His 2 brother are axxhole, Mc's father was hospitalised because of a stroke, his two brother announced that they don't want to take care of their father and wanted to separate the family, so MC step up to take care of his child, father and mother only using little bit of money, he started from selling popsicle, mooncake to opening a greenhouse, this is a story about his journey (the ML is the friend's youngest uncle)

[collapse]
<<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
charlieLVK
charlieLVK rated it
December 9, 2023
Status: Completed
From a personal point of view, to be honest, this novel is disappointing. It started out relatively fine but then it really went downhill.

To me it was really long winded. I'm not sure about others but the way the story was written was tiring. Too much repetition. Although some would say it reflects the slice if life, laid back setting, the monotonous scripts is just really exhausting to read.

... more>>
Spoiler

There's also the child. In my opinion his characterisation is somewhat flawed. He grew up in a difficult and poor environment, bullied by his older cousins, it would be more believable if he had a more restrained, cautions, understanding nature despite being young.

Of course, my first impression when I first started was that despite the hardships, he is a happy to be by his father's side kind of child. But then as the story progresses, the novel just portrayed him being spoiled, throwing tantrums, not listening to adults. Although there may be such children in reality, but for the purpose of this novel, it does not match the setting.

The fact that the dialogues with him is always about cars and food is really redundant to the point of annoyance. It really made me wonder, is there really nothing else you could say other then I want to eat this, I want to ride the big car?

[collapse]

I honestly didn't think of this novel as cute but it is a bit bland. <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
AchilleusWhite
AchilleusWhite rated it
April 19, 2023
Status: Completed
10/10

I have nothing to say, it's a wonderful story.

Spoiler

I will miss the two baobao

[collapse]

I like how the author decided not to write about Xu Zhao's children growing up because he/she reluctant to see them grow up.

I don't want to see them grow up too😭

lol after reading this novel I feel like I became a mother.
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Leave a Review (Guidelines)
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.