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Economic Reform! 50's-90's
Economic Reform! 50's-90's
List of novels I have read from China's cultural revolution era ordered by my rating :) Also, has all my reviews in the list! The setting in these stories can be felt, that old timey, nostalgic vibe. Usually has a poor to rich, money making plot because I love those combined with the nostalgic setting! Also, I may be projecting lolol Any reccomendations are welcome!
But guh. It's like 80% of all I read are a miss -.-'. I do mostly read translated versions and they all have a lot eh to them. Why uhuhu.
But guh. It's like 80% of all I read are a miss -.-'. I do mostly read translated versions and they all have a lot eh to them. Why uhuhu.
HeartwarmingTime TravelChildcareFamily BusinessFarmingFamilial LovePoor to RichSecond ChanceTransmigrationModern Knowledge
38 Followers
Created: Apr 28th, 2024, Updated: Mar 29th, 2025
Created Apr 28th, 2024
Updated Mar 29th, 2025
CN (4.6)
169 Chapters Every 99.9 Day(s) 7858 Readers 160 Reviews 05-27-2021
4.5 Stars... more>>
Writing/Translation
I read the translation by Serena Love. The translation is not the best but not the worst either. Everything was mostly legible and any mistakes is easily autocorrected in the head while reading. There were some pronoun errors but it is fine. The only problem is that sometimes I feel like I don't understand what is happening (probably because it was edited from MTL) but you can usually ignore it or guess the meaning. Sadly, there aren't many footnotes or explanations of idioms. Luckily, this isn't an ancient China novel so while it is an issue, it doesn't affect the main pros of the story much.
Plot
The plot is slice of life, people working hard to improve the quality of life of the people they love. So there is conflict but it is smoothed over eventually. The conflicts that arise feel like they got stakes but it wasn't a too insurmountable feeling. I do feel that the choice to separate at just before the happy ending felt flimsy though. But we got through that part pretty fast so it is okay.
Themes/What Story Tried to Achieve
Rags to riches, heartwarming scenes, earnest romance and supporting a downtrodden and beaten young man with life, warmth and good food. Achieved it all. The feelings held by the main couple were so sweet and filled with honey, you could feel the depth of it. The fl didn't really take charge of making money in reality as I expected from the synopsis but it was more she was there to support the ml's efforts by giving nudges, ideas, helping hands, love, warmth and comfort. Surprisingly, the food part was not even half as much in the story as in the Ancient Foodie. But it was nice to read about it. Ahh, the feels here were very good.
The time period also played such a big role in the story as expected of it being in the title haha. I learnt a lot about how things were back then in China. It was so different from how I have always lived. A fresh and eye-opening experience.
Pacing
Pacing was good, I didn't feel like anything was too long or too short.
Characters
I love the main couple and the ML the most! He's so rootable and cute haha. His feelings have touched me deeply. The fl is spunky haha. There's nothing much to say about her but I love her love for her old man and the changes she affected in his life. The side characters are all unique and relatable, which made me root for them too! Especially, the close friends and family. The main villains, surprisingly isn't the ex-husband (he's really kinda a minor one in screentime lol). The main villain wasn't really developed and is just really a plot device lol They were okay haha
Overall Comments
This story is really like reading honey! The romance or well, the feelings of the main couple weren't really like, I love her! I love her I love her! s*x s*x s*x like in other novels. You really read about how, yes, they love each other romantically but also how much you want them to live a good life and to succeed in life. How they will think and act in each other's best interests while living life. It wasn't a story about how to get into each other's pants though there is that, it was about how they could improve each other's happiness and wellbeing. It's very wholesome and sweet.
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CN (4.4)
701 Chapters Every 80.1 Day(s) 8852 Readers 204 Reviews 03-22-2022
4.25 Stars... more>>
Overall
Ahh, such a journey. We follow the MC for so many years, for 700 chapters T^T It has basically almost everything I want in this type of genre. Some of the endeavours were detailed, some weren't, but so many were done that I couldn't stop reading. It is truly slice of life, getting rich with family and friends haha Yes, it's definitely not perfect and there were some forgotten people and foreshadowing that resolved quite fast at the end but I enjoyed myself so much binge reading everything. It was very satisfying to read them set up all the pieces to be wealthy in the future. I only wish they wrote more detail of them just enjoying themselves and more people exclaiming how rich they are to make it more satisfying haha I also wish the 3 sons were main characters in the 2nd half of the story, like they were back in the village. The further along the story, the more characters are introduced and the older the kids got, the less they appear. Really, it was only the third that kinda stayed until the very end lol. But ahhh, we followed until the end of the life of the main cp so now I'm super sad and need to read a fluffy story lolol
Translation/Writing
I read the translation by Explore, Maggie. It sounds like she only did it because of COVID isolation and made daily updates, so the translation isn't perfect or polished. There are careless mistakes littered throughout. But it is much better than mtl, they included pictures whenever needed and it was perfectly understandable all the way through. There are some name mistakes and a couple of missing words/plural to non plural/gender mistakes and so on but honestly, it's very readable. The flow was uninterrupted for me.
Plot
This is a slice of life story from MC at 20+ to 40 at the end. Then a summary of everyone's lives until 90 and their peaceful death. It really follows the title of the story, raise the kids at the beginning, then develop their families in the capital and/or other cities.
Themes/What Story Tried to Achieve
Truly a properly realistic development from poor village level to mega-rich story. With so many chapters, the author can really detail step-by-step how the cp can go from a to b and didn't skimp on the variety. At the beginning, there is a raising the family with good food arc. In between that, how to actually get the food via the black market with all the coupon restrictions in the 60s. Then there is the studying part to get to university. Then comes the capital part, where they really start doing business and really get wealthy. In between, all the family connections are being deepened and helping the others raise themselves up too. And matchmaking in the last parts.
I love all the business parts, it really ramped up at the capital. But also, in the capital, was also when the cp started going off by themselves to date or make money. It's just this part where they don't go into as much detail anymore. I would like them to describe the real estate more haha But I guess since then there is a lot of them so no need. I like how the author will periodically tell how much money was saved or how much monthly income was made in total. It really helps visualise the scale up to there.
For the side characters, there are sooo many that were given love. It made things vibrant and heartwarming because they are all family. I liked seeing how they will treat each other to food and how they can ask for help and advice and it is given. We see many of them grow up too so it feels close.
I also want to mention the setting. It is quite vivid. This is China in the olden days so the temperament of the characters matches it. I'm Chinese, though not from China, so I am familiar with the beliefs there. So I have to mention that it does get a bit annoying to read about them giving gifts to each other and then the other saying, "Aiya, no need to bring gifts ma, just yourself is enough!" Then the demurring, etc., happens. Then the other party visits the other person instead, and the exact same thing happens. Gifts, saying no, etc., Sigh, doing this a few times and when done well, like when the relatives set up shops and the MC visited there for the first time, when they gave gifts to the cp and let them stay over, I could feel the joy and sincerity because their success and happiness were due to the MC. It doesn't feel like a poor person giving to a rich person anymore, but truly equals sharing their joy. It was heartwarming. Later on, when this happens with the newer, richer people, it just feels a bit fake, even though they aren't. I guess I just don't like the demurring attitude when accepting gifts in Chinese culture. Just freaking accept the gift and say thank you and pay them back in some other way later. So much unnecessary "no you don't have to pay, no we haven't finished what you gave before, nooo I can't possibly accept this expensive thing, no you don't have to give me this thing that I also have a lot at home." Lol.
The other thing is probably also a cultural thing. This was published in 2014 and was probably written earlier. The romance mindset is kinda a typical macho man in bed, just brute forcing their way through and it is romanticised. This is true with the main cp especially vivid in the earlier chapters and even in the extras for the 2nd's daughter. The attitude in normal life is all more or less okay, just the entitlement the men have to the girl's body.
Pacing
The slice of life tag is definitely warranted. With 700 chapters, you can also read it as part get rich activities and also like those tv dramas with the family drama haha Addicting. Some parts are a little slow, some parts a little fast but overall, very slice of life.
Characters
The MC is quite stubborn and domineering. One is and two is two and nobody can say otherwise. She has a big heart for people who are good and if they are bad, straightforwardly cuts off contact decisively and immediately. She's smart and a planner. As for the ML, I don't know if I like him in particular lol. I love how much he loves his wife, his brothers, his family and how he works hard to support. But in all other aspects, he's a typical male of this period. There are some bad parts, like the s*x attitude and the preference of a daughter over the sons.
For the bad guys, wow they can really rile you up sometimes haha. All of them contribute some nice drama for the MC to conquer haha I do find that for the 2nd sister-in-law though, near the end of the village arc, it seems like she was getting okay? But then, it felt like not enough drama, lets change her to a bad guy again. Lol.
Some things that I found imperfect
- Some characters that feel like they will be a bit more important seem to have been forgotten lol Like Wang Li, the university best friend. They promised for the child to be the MC's godchild, but the character was forgotten until hundreds of chapters later and then, it was only a summary.
- The progression of the godchild relationship when the MC got pregnant was way too fast for me. She was there for like four months only. Also, it felt a bit hypocritical of the MC in how well she treated them. The Jiang family very quickly suggested to each other if they wanted to create a godchild relationship for the kid and the parents were very willing to climb up this capital family. But the MC were also quite willing to let them. It kinda feels weird that this family wants to use the Mc to raise up, the MC lets them so fast while others who are worse off does not because of bad character or something. Sure they gave a bad impression first it still feels a too benefit seeking for this Jiang family.
- The transmigration novel's plot didn't have much of an impact in this 700-chapter story. The two leads don't do anything. They don't have any role in the story. They were like only 1/30th of the story lol I wanted more from them. Maybe make them rebirth too and make them bad in character and cause some drama haha
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CN (4.4)
517 Chapters Every 34.9 Day(s) 5996 Readers 72 Reviews 05-04-2024
4.13 Stars... more>>
"I like how the mc acted like a green tea. But although she’s a green tea, she’s a good one. It’s fun and interesting, I enjoy it. The children (her siblings) are cute too. The story is heartwarming and nice. The face slapping scenes also really nice and satisfying. The mc is clever and strong. Male lead is also nice, he’s kinda cute, a shy type person. " - Jechan95
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Writing/Translation: 4/5
The translation I read is from fringe capybara from C1 to C388. The rest I read in MTL using Google Translate. The TL is pretty good. It's just that each chapter is broken up into short bites, so it's quite annoying to always have to click on the next chapter. The MTL, this was the easiest story to MTL I’ve ever read. Even when the sentences are so garbled, I can still easily understand what they mean. The flow of reading barely had any pause lol.
Pacing: 3.9/5
The pacing was pretty smooth, except for a few instances at the end. Near the end, there were a lot of time skips, so it was a little jarring and weird. But this is normal with CN web novels so...
Plot: 4/5
This was pretty fun. Although it wasn't a farming poor to rich story set in the 70s that I love, it was still a super nice poor to rich story with a good romance and a nice face-slapping story. The starting point of the MC is low and she upgrades her family's quality of life pretty quickly, but it was still interesting to see the MC’s actions in dealing with other people and setting up for her future successes. She does make a point to make money, although she doesn't really go into detail about constantly selling stuff like in other stories. But all her actions are done with the focus of improving their lives, so people who like that will like this.
I only wish the final end of all the bad guys weren't decided to get the worst end in just like two sentences. They spent years of labor on the farm and next thing we knew, they were dead there. On one hand, it is pretty nice to know that for once, the bad guy is dealt with once and for all. On the other hand, this meant the author had to come up with new bad guys. I have an issue with the last bad guy. The whole thing with the friend turned jealous idiot that turned traitor to the country felt kind of out there and not a big enough villain to end the story with. I thought the mother would be that but she died earlier than this girl.
Romance: 4/5
The romance is nice. The ML is pretty cute haha.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 4/5
The setting is different than normal. It's in the capital city from the start but the story is still a poor to rich story. Normally, the capital is the final destination haha. We also get some different settings than normal, like state-run restaurants and scientific research stuff. Also, military.
Characters: 4.5/5
The main characters are all very good. There is chemistry and life in them. No one was really generic, except maybe the greedy relatives. The stars are all the kids haha. They are hilarious in a childish way. I admit that I thought they would play a more important role later on because at the start, there was some focus on their endings previously but they were kinda in the background later. But, ah well haha.
Personal Enjoyment: 4.5/5
I enjoyed it very much. It was one of the few better 50-80s-era story I’ve read.
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CN (3.9)
165 Chapters Every 18.5 Day(s) 1460 Readers 29 Reviews 10-14-2024
4.057 Stars... more>>
Date Read: 6/3/2025
Personal Enjoyment: 4/5
I love this era and it's been awhile since I read something like this. The beginning was the best. Simple, budding family relationship. It felt pretty genuine too. I loved the relationship between MC and ML and MC and her son. I can understand why the rating is 3.9, though. Where the story turns later on is a bit odd. But overall, I enjoyed reading it.
Plot: 3.8/5
Interesting choices by the author. The beginning felt like a typical transmigration to the 50’s type of story. Then it slowly showed a zoomed-out perspective of what life was like when those things happened and how people lived then. As the more chaotic changes happened, it got more bittersweet. I teared up at a few bits even.
However, there were a couple of points where I felt like I was missing information. It felt like I missed a chapter somewhere. The most prominent was when the MC apparently did not expose Secretary Ment to the dogs in the auditorium. And made enemies out of some other people. The story did not show this scene, we just saw the aftermath. I double checked the raws but they were the same so I didn't miss anything actually. Also, some of the chapter order is weird and might be wrong near the end like C110+, FYI.
Other than that, I appreciate that the story did not end on a bittersweet note. The son left the family at 11, forbidden contact for years and no physical contact for decades. That was so bittersweet. But near the end, the surrounding era had forwarded enough that communication resumed. And I am very happy the story ended with the MC and ML happily taking care of their grandkid at a youngish age still. Some other stories will go on until they are age 90+ and show them dying after the other of old age. Those stories were so sad at the end!
Writing/Translation: 3.8/5
The translation I read is from ShanghaiFantasy. It was pretty decent. A few wrong names and such but it flowed pretty smoothly. There were some bits whose sentences I didn't understand but I kinda got the gist and skipped some sentences over.
Pacing: 3.8/5
Setting/Worldbuilding: 4/5
The setting is decently written and quite interesting! The author chose a variety of places and people to show us how the setting was like. Very interesting.
Characters: 4.5/5
I love all the characters. They feel so real and they all have their own logic behind their actions even if you don't really understand. I love that. Nobody was truly bad or good. They were all just regular fellow humans.
Romance: 4.5/5
The romance is good! I especially love the beginning’s more intimate relationships. Before the chaotic age began. It was so heartfelt. The ML was such a green flag but also with his own flaws and quirks that he feels real. And the author has such a way with words to make me feel for the ML and his hard life. He was so happy when his wife lived up to his hopes and dreams of starting a marriage with a partner to navigate through life with.
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CN (4.2)
150 Chapters Every 5.6 Day(s) 1820 Readers 15 Reviews 06-22-2025
1994. 4.04 Stars... more>>
*Update 07/04/2024: Ahhhh! Crysanthemum Garden picked up the novel to TL!!! One of my favourite novels in the poor to rich slice of life genre!! Same author as “Stone Age Husband Raising Journal”, “The Only Favourite Ugly Husband” and “I Want To Be a Good Person in This Life”. I love their progression type stories, they are all so satisfying. Poor to rich, weak to strong XD I read this novel with MTL, I am so unbelievably excited CG is picking it up! It was tough reading the browser translated version using 2 different browsers just so I have 2 different translation to better understand. And I am pretty sure I lost some nuances and detail from the story. Ahhhh, I can’t wait to reread it in actual English squeeeeee XDDD*
"Really satisfying poor-to-rich, working, business, to construction with proper safety controls."The Heavens most likely took pity on him and he was reborn back to the year 1994. At that time he had just come of age. He was hungry, and lived beneath a bridge, but the events he regretted had not yet occurred. His beloved person was still alive."
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Writing/Translation: 3.5/5
I read the MTL version. The translation is the default Google and Safari translation. Both have different parts that are not understandable so I will go to the other to have a slightly better understanding. The MtL is actually quite good. The author uses a lot of names in the text instead of pronouns, so when mtled, there are not as many pronoun mistakes as expected. Even all the technical detailed parts of making money were pretty understandable. I say you won't regret giving it a shot if you like this type of novel.
Pacing: 3.9/5
The beginning, when the MC had nothing and was rock bottom, was my favourite part. Because there was so much detail in describing how he made money and how their lives were slowly yuan by yuan, improving. Later on, the details got a bit more high-level, which was sad. It wasn't as day to day detailed, but week to week and month to month. But still, I didn't lose interest at all.
Plot: 4/5
I love this type of story where the main focus is improving their lives and those of their other poor relatives. The businesses were more detailed than most others. Exactly what I wanted!
Romance: 3.9/5
I did like it. No one was unequal here. Both have their own vulnerabilities that don't feel typical BL, fake or not executed enough. The whole thing was surprisingly mature and real enough.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 4/5
The setting feels really real to a person who has never been to China.
Characters: 4/5
The characters feel different from other CN web novels of the same type. The side characters are all self-serving, but in a very normal way. It's kinda refreshing. The relatives and family of the MC from a poor rural mountain all want to sincerely improve their lives, so they all work hard to earn money. In the same way, the stepfamily of the MC is always worried that if they take sides, the husband or son will dislike them and kick them out of the family. So whenever something happens, especially for the stepmother, she thinks about whether this person will take care of her when she is old and sick. But this is all not in a bad way; this is their situation and this is that type of era, and anybody with their submissive temperament will think the same. The interesting thing is that they won't do bad things, so although there are many flaws compared to other similar web novels, these characters feel very very real in terms of attitude. I like this glimpse into the culture in China at this era.
Personal Enjoyment: 5/5
Loved it! It almost hit 100% of my ideal poor-to-rich type of story! If the author had used the same type of family connection vibe from their The Only Favourite Ugly Husband story, it would have been utterly perfect.
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CN (4.5)
70 Chapters Every 25.9 Day(s) 1867 Readers 27 Reviews 07-29-2024
4.04 Stars... more>>
Date Read: 26/11/2024
Personal Enjoyment: 3.9/5
I quite like the story. It is more grounded than the usual transmigration-typed stories. And it has a lot more heart than I thought. I like the vibe, it's a bit humorous but still down to earth. With found family and all those feels. And of course, my favourite poor-to-rich development for the sake of friends and family and a fulfilling life.
Short Summary:
MC transmigrate to 1983 and saves his sister by “marrying” a famous gangster. He slowly falls in love and the two proceed to make money to provide a safer and happier lifestyle for themselves and the little “brothers” of the ML. While living a gay, in the happy sense of the word, life.
Plot: 4/5
At first, the MC gets to know life with the ML and all that entails. Then he slowly decides to go all in and help the MC make better decisions with his future knowledge. Then comes the poor to rich aspect although they aren't actually poor. But the author manages to give good reasons to make more money by getting to the heart.
Writing/Translation: 4/5
The translation I read is from Reae at KnoxT. Pretty good tl, you can tell that the translator spent a lot of effort going through and making it all as readable and intuitive as possible even though they don't understand Chinese. I didn't get some of the scenes but the vibe of it was still kept. No spelling mistakes and hardly any grammar ones.
Pacing: 3.9/5
The pacing is decent. There was a 3 year time skip before the last 10 chapters but it didn't really rush that much. Things proceeded logically and I didn't feel anything was too slow or rushed. However, in the latter half, things did feel less interesting if only because everyone was at a very good spot already.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 3.8/5
It's not that detailed. There are mentions of different regions and places but only the very bare minimum. I don't really know the differences between all the places except the obvious like a rural village and a town. Or a coastal area and Shanghai. I like that we go to different places though.
Characters: 4.2/5
I love the characters, especially the main couple. The MC is surprisingly funny. He's young but calm and witty. The ML is also surprisingly more lighthearted and free than first impressions. And all the other side characters were the ML’s found family brothers and they are all cheerful and diverse people. There aren't any antagonists for the majority of the story. Just we see their hard work and the results.
Romance: 4.5/5
The romance is wonderful. Lightheart and real with no insta love. They also showed not tell of the romance between the main couple. And it all makes sense! From a forced marriage of convenience to genuine and sweet love with respect for both sides. I love that while understandably hesitant at first, the shou/MC grows to love the ML without noticing by responding to the genuine care of the ML.
And the s*x scenes, the translation of them is not explicit that it's in your face and is more like fade to grey lol. I like it this way. And the personalities of the two people involved are also involved in the process! So it's grounded, sometimes humorous and practical, full of smiles and love. It's nice.
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CN (3.9)
22 Chapters Every 68.1 Day(s) 957 Readers 14 Reviews 05-29-2025
90's 4.04 Stars... more>>
Overall
My thoughts are mostly the same as tr*sh_generalist’s review. It was quite a solid novel. It is unfortunate that I couldn't find the extras though. I think those might have the ending of that cousin who was transmigrated and also reborn. I think that would have the events in the synopsis of the novel because that didn't happen in the main text.
Writing/Translation: 2.5/5
I read the MTl version so there is undoubtedly a lot I missed. Also, the MtL is not as readable as it could have been. But I still quite enjoyed it. If it were translated, I would have loved it even more.
Pacing: 2.54/5
Plot: 4.25/5
It was really satisfying to read all the face-slapping XD
Romance: 4.5/5
The romance is actually rather good. Healthy boundaries and all that. The couple has substance. Both the MC and the ML aren't just there to be a typical macho ML of that era.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 4/5
I love these types of era XD
Characters: 4/5
Ahh, the bad guys were so good to hate. And they keep coming back which is very satisfying hehehe.
Personal Enjoyment: 5/5
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CN (4.1)
132 Chapters Every 22 Day(s) 2677 Readers 29 Reviews 08-04-2024
3.99 Stars... more>>
"Su Yu is the most streetwise MC I have ever read. It's not just the plot but also the way she speaks and how she builds relationships. Even though this is fiction, I think it is very helpful for anyone who works in an office or who have complicated (family) relationships. Where there's a group of people, there'll be politics. The story is quite realistic in this sense. Su Yu is quite the political animal without being b*tchy at all. Sometimes, I think what she says seems over the top, but she did mention the necessity of being noticed and being thick-skinned. She is not pushy in promoting herself and is only indirect in her approach. She plays politics at a very high level - but we are not surprised because we are told right from the start, the background of her past life." ~sassyzoe
"Su Yu is the definite QUEEN of BUREAUCRACY! This story boasts one of the most pragmatic and real female bosses in existence, not a sweet FL but an adult capable woman with the hability of being flexible in pretty dangerous political times. I also liked the light shed on real historical events that happened before this story takes place and that helped me understand a lot more about the reasons behind China´s deep dive into comunism. We can all despise the misery, death and genocide caused and made worse by comunists politics but those happened and it is important to understand why they did. It is totally worth the read if you are looking for real female power and not for sweet, delicate princess like protagonists."~Lissie Furen
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Writing/Translation: 3/5
The translation I read is from MTL which is not bad. There is a drop in understanding which means you don't really truly get what is happening but for me at least, I could still enjoy it. I actually stopped for a few days thinking to drop the story but thinking that there probably would not be anyone translating the story for a long time, I picked the MTL back up to read.
Pacing: 4/5
The majority of the story's pacing is good. No complaints. It's just the ending as usual that feels more quick than the rest. It's typical of Chinese webnovels though. The ending has more frequent time skips and such.
Plot: 4.3/5
Pretty good. It's refreshing to read a more political/bureaucratic (in a way) type of story for a transmigration to the 50’s era type of story instead of a get rich type. It helps that the MC is so smart and capable. Cunning? So the setting is like that haha. I also really love that all those small-minded take-advantage relatives got tamed by her and became part of “hers”. Also nice is the ML. He feels just like her in a way. I only wish the story also continued after they reached Beijing and all the restrictions were lifted.
Romance: 4/5
The romance is pretty good haha. Kinda refreshing. The relationship is more like partners and that makes more sense haha.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 4.3/5
The setting is a pretty important part of the story. Read it if you want to know more about what is happening among the leaders of that time period. This also meant that it was better for the MC to go the political route instead of the business route at the time. It is also explained by her in the story. Nice.
Characters: 4.3/5
Very good. There are so many different characters, although not many are really delved into, but our MC especially likes to make connections so we get to know a lot of characters.
Personal Enjoyment: 4/5
I enjoyed myself a lot. The score would have been far higher if I had read a proper translation of the whole story though. Mostly because a lot of the titles and group names are probably wrong in the MTL so I don't quite know what they really are.
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CN (4.3)
353 Chapters Every 0.3 Day(s) 3659 Readers 55 Reviews 10-29-2023
3.97 Stars... more>>
Date Read: 26/4/2924
Personal Enjoyment: 3.9/5
Despite not having a poor to rich experience for more than half the story, I still enjoyed it. I didn't feel like dropping the story at all. It is just I can't help feeling that it could have been and done so much more. Like for the conflicts.
I wish there was an equal amount of drama happening to other characters and also to the main characters that they had to take action to solve. I compare it to Back to the Sixties, Get Wealthy, Raising Cubs which is another similar story that is Completed and follows a similar trajectory as this one. The MC's career is almost the same too. However, their characters are so different and so much faceslapping was had and I loved it despite the ML's infuriating attitude of heavily favouring the youngest daughter over all the sons. The poor-to-rich element of that story was absolutely fantastic. I still was engaged with this story as is though. This is a more soothing and tranquil slice-of-life story.
And yes, the story ends when the characters are 110 years old when they die. But the tone is pretty cheerful and full of life until the very end. It was still melancholic and philosophical in that last paragraph and I cried lol. Just a warning so no one gets surprised.
*Just FYI to manage expectations, the first 2/3rd of the story is not a poor to rich story. She doesn't do anything to get rich. She just marries a man who has a rich family. She also doesn't really have any special talent or guts to go against the law so other than the very beginning she feels her life is pretty good and doesn't bother to go into any selling business. It is only after some time in college that she starts making money.
Plot: 3.9/5
The first 200 ish chapters are the rural educated youth plot. The beginning starts off strong. The MC is full of agency and urgency to prepare for her stay in a rural area until the examinations start back. So she's making money to prep. Once she reaches the village, it's all about survival and staying lowkey.
However, sometime after she marries the ML and is pregnant, her proactiveness disappears. Because the ML's family is too amazing. They send money and tickets galore. She never does any money-making schemes like I expected after the very beginning. Because the Ml side handled everything.
The next is the college era. Here the OgFL and OgML don't really appear so I feel the drama is even more side character-based and has nothing to do with the FL personally. Not even the OgFL who at least we have more contact with. This has a consequence of the drama feeling a tad more over the top lol. There was an investment in a friend's business at 470+. And then she added another shop. And from here onwards, the poor-to-rich tag really takes place. However, it's not as detailed as I like. But good enough I suppose since that tag was why I started reading in the first place. I only wish she started right from the beginning of the rural farm life era instead of 2/3rds of the way through the story.
This section is all about their life. It is truly slice of life. There are no more overarching aims since the MC achieved her goal of getting back into the city. They just live their lives as happily as they can and slowly get on with their careers along with the MC's businesses. Along the way, we get to know their interactions with the main characters' relatives and their lives. Honestly, everything was smooth sailing. There was no conflict for the main characters anymore. It was all about the characters around them like their classmates or relatives. And it gets solved without their input at all.
A big disappointment is how the OgFL and OgML eventually just disappear from the story. It was disappointing. I thought at least the MC would show her nosyness and keep track of them. They don't even appear in the ending or the extras. Honestly, it is a bit weird because they were so important in the rural part of the story. So I thought we would be getting more stuff about them.
Writing/Translation: 4.5/5
The translation I read is from A Wandering Potato. The first few chapters were super short so it was very laggy to frequently wait for the page to load. Because of the ads. My tip is to load two or three chapters and then cut the wifi on your phone so the ads don't keep popping at the bottom. It keeps popping up after I close them whenever I scroll downwards. My phone felt hot and was struggling to load because of all the extra videos running on the page. As for the TL quality, it is fantastic! Very good :D
Pacing: 4/5
Honestly, the pacing is super consistent! It never felt slow or rushed. It was honestly just nice for this slice-of-life feel. And amazingly, even though the extras or ending was more summarising a time skip, it never felt like it was. The pace was still the same somehow. Good writing style.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 3.9/5
The setting I feel is not bad if only because the story is so long that we have more places to see. The rural village and then the university at the capital. However, the level of detail is pretty low. I can't really imagine the greater surroundings. The focus was really on the characters and how their life is going rather than expressing what the places look like.
Characters: 3.8/5
I really liked the Fl and Ml at the beginning when they just met. They were so interesting. The FL was gungho and decisive while the Ml was hilarious having such a frail body and surprising outlook. I was excited to get more of him. But after being cured, he basically becomes a typical ML. Good at everything, handsome as shit, spoils the FL crazily, loves having s*x until the FL is that annoying tropey mad at his enthusiasm causing her body to ache the next day. Kinda sad about that. The FL too. After getting together there were no more personal conflicts for her to faceslap. The ML does it for her.
I was super interested in the OgFL and OgML though! But we didn't really get to know them, unfortunately. Not even their ending. Because the Mc kept keeping away from them.
All the side characters were nice. None of them felt like that placeholder NPC. They all feel like real people we just passingly know because the Mc just passingly knows about them.
Romance: 3.8/5
The romance is unfortunately typical. Sad because there was a super interesting intro of their first meeting but after everything is done, the romance becomes the typical romance. The ML's uniqueness just goes away. And his presence kinda diminished a bit as the story went on and more side characters were introduced to the MC. I wish we had more focus on their relationship though lol. The Ml also gets busy with his own career. And yes they do have dates and lots of them communicate issues with each other but it's pretty short lol.
Also, I really wanted more conflict of the romantic kind about each other in their college and teacher era! Like even more suitors making trouble for each other so the other person can faceslap them hahaha.
If anyone knows of a CN novel with a frail and interesting attitude ML and a stronger FL that isn't a naive idiot set in rural or ancient China, please let me know! I am curious to read about this type of dynamic in Chinese novels seeing that their culture is deeply entrenched in favouring boys over girls.
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CN (3.4)
8 Chapters Every 111 Day(s) 318 Readers 5 Reviews 04-23-2023
3.9 Stars... more>>
Writing/Translation: 3/5
I read mostly in MTL for the whole thing. It's surprisingly understandable. Even when the sentences are almost gibberish, I can still understand them so good that there were hardly any interruptions in the flow. And sometimes, when I don't understand but want to know, I can just check the translation from a different browser and that always comes through. I would rate this much higher if there was a TL.
Pacing: 4/5
Not bad for a story this length. We go from junior high to just graduating from college. There is a time skip in the middle ish from high school to college which I wanted in detail but eh.
Plot: 4/5
I give it a 4 just because it's so long and I was invested the whole way haha. I love this type of stories and it's so long! It's more dealing with adversaries who are jealous of them or want to take advantage of them because of blood relationships and doing business to get wealthy. This part isn't that detailed and a bit hand-wavey, but there is constant doing stuff to make money.
Romance: 3.8/5
The romance is okay. It's not the focus but it is there. The ML is also an interesting enough character. And they only get together near the end lol.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 4/5
Nice haha. She has so many business ventures.
Characters: 4.5/5
Very good! I love all the side characters. They all kind of grow especially the ones close to the MC. Nice to see. Also nice is that some of the bad guys became good guys hehe. That's a bit different.
Personal Enjoyment: 4/5
I like that it's so long and set in one of my favourite era. The length and story are similar ish to Back to the Sixties Get Wealthy and raising cubs or something like that. It's not quite as step-by-step with lots of numbers to get rich but it's good enough lol.
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CN (3.9)
176 Chapters Every 12.6 Day(s) 1080 Readers 11 Reviews 12-17-2024
3.87 Stars... more>>
Date Read: 27/3/2025
Personal Enjoyment: 3.9/5
I love myself a decent 70’s era type story. This one is 1998 though but the tone and vibe is the same. It has a lot of flaws but I still enjoyed myself. Guilty pleasure anyone?
My personal issue was how rather depressing everyone else's life felt. They were all poor, then they started being able to improve their lives after so much hard work. But then, even after that, they get swayed by the rich people's vices. Friends go astray, friends die, people get older and sicker, regret and loss types of what-ifs. Sigh.
In addition to that, the wealthy people they get to know, also have a horrible time. Child trafficking, husbands cheating, wrong identity, sigh. I wanted a more escapism-type story not get hit by the grim realities of the world lol.
Plot: 4/5
The business details isn't that detailed because it's done by the husband. But I surprisingly didn't mind because I feel like there are progress being made and the MC isn't a passive person. She also does things to move the story along. Especially when dealing with family and close friend matters.
Despite my issues, it was decent. Something was always happening to keep my interest. Most of it was how the MC lived her life raising her kid in a less ideal environment, dealing with the in-laws, studying, and communicating with the scary husband. It moved on to more of that and also how the husband was making money, seeing how past bad events can be solved or avoided, helping friends and so on.
It was more of the same as the Ml’s business grew bigger, the intimate scale of the issues surprisingly didn't feel too big and distant. The humanising feeling of them was still down to earth. Like issues with bullying or imposter syndrome. Then with the wealthy people's issues, all the problems introduced were still personal types such as feelings of anger and betrayal when one's father keeps a mistress outside. The focus is more on the personal effect. I like this. I just don't like how depressing it all is haha. Even when you get rich, life is still so messy.
Writing/Translation: 3.6/5
The translation I read is from Shanghai Fantasy. I feel the translation or maybe the author's writing is worse than the Sweet Stepmother in the 60’s story. Lots of pronoun and name errors, different translations of the same paragraphs and a couple of cut off sentences.
The biggest issue for me was how contradictory the characters were written. I'm not sure if this is a translation issue or a writing issue. In the first chapter, the MC transmigrates into a pregnant lady and doesn't know anything. Then her mother-in-law came over to give money and food while complaining she was lazy. Which, I can understand from her view the MC just slept while her son was at the police lockup. So I thought the OGbody was a bad woman and the mother-in-law was just annoyed at her. The MC too. It wasn't written that she went to bail out her husband and leisurely spent all that money that I thought was to bail him out.
Then, a lot later in the chapters, we find out she did pay bail for him from his brother's pov. Bad writing this was. Furthermore, the mother-in-law was portrayed as some annoying lady a few chapters later. Then why did she give vegetables and money so freely in the first chapter? According to her character from later on, she wouldn't have cared?? Contradictory.
Now for the baby. It was constantly written that she has no fear of strangers and wouldn't cry when picked up by them. But then later on, she's written as being pretty shy. Did the author forget what she wrote before? Or is this some quirk of Chinese writing that is hard to translate into understandable English?
Pacing: 4/5
Pacing is good. No parts felt too slow or rushed. Some parts did feel slow like one sentence before something interesting happens.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 3.8/5
I think it could be better but still, it is pretty decent. Lots of different places, schools, rural homes, cities and towns. I do wish it was more detailed.
Characters: 3.9/5
A good variety of characters for this type of novel. The MC is fine. The ML is very good. Love the character development. The child is okay. The friends and family are all unique. No NPCs.
Romance: 3.9/5
The romance is one of the better ones. The ML respects the MC and I like that. The romance is also pretty gradual and not insta love. They like each other because of their actions for one another. It makes sense.
I also like that the s*x isn't ridiculous where the guy chases after it uncomfortably all the time while the girl is reluctant. Here, the MC also likes it and wants it. It feels so natural and normal lol. Luckily it's not explicit.
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CN (4.3)
477 Chapters Every 75.5 Day(s) 9970 Readers 124 Reviews 06-02-2022
3.8 Stars... more>>
Overall
It was an okay story, I really liked the business parts when she was just a clothing shop seller. I felt like I was with her with grit and gogogo energy and kids to pick up from school. The selling techniques and promotions were so detailed. But after she partnered with the super wealthy best friend, it never got to that level of intensity anymore because the partner was doing most of the work. The company got so big that I couldn't imagine it anymore. Also, the capital came from the partner, the people came from the partner, it was like everything was handled by that partner. After that, the money numbers dramatically increased in scale and were just never shown anymore because they were too big. So basically, after she joined up, the business side lost interest for me. After that happened, there is just no more tension in the story. I think one of the reasons is also that her partner was the driving force and the ambitious one of the partnership, not the MC.
Other than that, I feel like the business side and the family/romance side felt too separated. The vibe during business and the vibe with the family/romance feels like 2 people. When the MC was doing business, she felt like a confident career woman. When hanging out with the family and romance, I don't feel that personality at all. I just read the Back to the Sixties, Creating Wealth, Raising Cubs story and the MC there has such a strong willed personality that is present no matter what the situation. Even when she's scared, she's still strong-willed. Here, it didn't feel the same.
Translation/Writing
The translation I read is by Fringe Capybara. The translation is very good, no careless mistakes that I can remember. There was a repeated couple of paragraphs once but it wasn't annoying. The flow was good except that the chapters were shorter than normal because the raws were broken up more. Hardly any idioms.
Plot
We follow the MC find a way to divorce the ex and get all his money, sets up a clothing shop for income and achieves marital bliss at the end of the story. The business satisfaction for me ended around halfway through the story because it got so big I felt no urgency or goal anymore. The goal was romance but as the reader I didn't realise it, so I kept waiting in vain for the business part to get interesting again.
Pacing
I felt the transitions between work and life were a bit jarring. The ending part felt a bit slow because the business felt like the achievement had already been accomplished. So the latter half felt a bit aimless. So that left the romance which was okay.
Characters
I liked the MC. She felt super relatable at the beginning, spinning like a top doing everything. Then, she became a boss and was so calm haha. The kids were cute and I wish they had bigger roles and more screen time like at the beginning, when they were the only important characters in the MC's life. The ML is cute and I like him. Whenever he talks about his life in the army, I tear up because the way the author wrote his feelings made me emphasise so much haha.
For the kids' friends' mums, they have so much screen time and always appear but I don't like them! They are typical moms who are slightly b*tchy. The way they were portrayed and introduced, I thought they would be good friends with the MC and have heartwarming female friendships but it was your typical comparing moms. They get jealous, they talk behind the back a bit, they brag a bit, they are superior a bit. I mean, they aren't the bad guys in the story but sigh. It wasn't really pleasant reading about them because they don't wholeheartedly want the MC to succeed. They didn't want her to fail either but it was more that they also want to earn a lot of money so they also all asked the MC secretly if they could also open a clothing business. I didn't understand but it seems this type of friend copying the pioneer's business is common in China? They see a friend do something amazing in business, then they ask that friend how to do it too. I feel like they can't come up with their own business idea? Too unoriginal. They didn't do the hard work because the friend already had the answer.
As for the bad guys, the faceslapping was okay. It wasn't as satisfying as in the Ugly Husband where it is super satisfying! The MC straight up commits violence hahaha. Here, it's overall kind of mild. Mostly because the MC cuts contact and a lot is handled by the Third brother so separated by a wall. The rest are handled by schemes using other people. However, the author reused the 'take a picture of the deed red handed and give them out like flyers' a lot so it got a bit repetitive.
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CN (4.2)
148 Chapters Every 41.4 Day(s) 4688 Readers 60 Reviews 11-04-2023
3.7 Stars... more>>
Overall/Personal Enjoyment: 3.9/5
I quite enjoyed myself. I've been in a reading slump since Nov so I said F it and started reading all the poor to rich not Completed webnovels in my list that I had reeeeally wanted to read. Normally, I would ignore the incomplete webnovels because I don't like the quality to drop halfway because of MTL but I didn't care anymore because I have read all the Completed novels with this type of trope haha.
I think I only read two other good transmigrate to the 50s-90s type of stories that were completed and that I really liked, Back to the 60s, Getting Wealthy, Raising Cubs and Bai Shumei in the 70s. The rest were quite disappointing. So I am happy to read this one. The story itself is pretty solid and I love that the business management part played a big role in the story. I wish the story focused more on that with even more detail haha. It only reached the level of the village and maybe the town or city. I wanted a business empire hahaha. I also would have liked more explicit information during the making of the products being sold like the recipe of the popsicles and what fruits exactly were inside. Also, for the greenhouses, I wanted to know in more detail each plant's drawing and planting detail like in the Pastoral Life. And also, what exactly are the greenhouse techniques the Mc learned in the capital. Well, this is my most common complaint for all webnovels most likely. More detail lol.
Writing/Translation: 3.4/5
The translation I read is from Lazy Sakura Translations. The translation is okay, there are often some mistakes but they don't affect the reading experience for me. Some missing words, things like that. Also, the writing is pretty simple and straightforward so any translation mistakes are easily ignored. It isn't finished yet at chapters 85/148 so I continued with the MTL at the mtlnovel website. Like another reviewer said, it's quite readable. Far superior to most MTL and some terrible translations, such as a tea novel, which is simply too difficult to read.The MTL has frequent add-ons to the names, wrong substitutions to nouns and so on, but the grammar is surprisingly good. And yes, sometimes there are paragraphs or something happens but you can't understand because of the mtl but it doesn't really detract from the experience. The cuteness of the baby isn't as clear but it is still there. Basically, if someone wants to clean up the mtl, it really wouldn't take much effort.
Pacing: 4/5
I thought it was pretty good especially during all the money making bits. Nothing really felt rushed or slow.
Plot: 3.8/5
The plot is really simple which is good for what it is. The MC moved to the 1980s with a 2-year-old, broke ass poor, he has to use his brain and rely on himself to provide for this poor child. The money making from the beginning to about 3/4 is quite detailed, especially how much was made exactly, which I liked. Then, as it got bigger and bigger, more people noticed and when it looked like he could live a good life no matter what happens next, the characters' past came back to make some drama. I admit that the drama part was okay but I wished it was more satisfying to faceslap and that it would have concluded much faster so I could go back to the business management part haha.
Romance: 3.3/5
The romance is kinda lowkey haha. It really only happened in the latter half of the story because the MC is just too busy making a living for his family. But I didn't dislike it. It's fine for me.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 3.5/5
This is a typical olden days rural China setting. I wish it was more detailed but the focus was more on the running a business part.
Characters: 4/5
The main characters are pretty good. The MC is lowkey, smart, hardworking and serious. His son is arguably also a main character because he appears almost all the time haha. He's 2-3 years old but he's quite eloquent. Although he is so eloquent, you can tell he's still a little kid which is good. A lot of other stories I read with kids either show them briefly then throw them to other caretakers or show the kid as a mini adult which is too unbelievable that it broke me out of the immersion. This is just right. The kid is super cute and the MC is really involved in the kid's daily life. I admit, the repetition of the kid's unique characteristics, ie, the constant food obsession and how the other characters keep teasing him about being handsome and/or a little fatty, got a bit annoying by the end. But I still prefer this kid. He added a lot to the story.
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CN (4.5)
57 Chapters Every 125.5 Day(s) 2668 Readers 34 Reviews 06-22-2022
90's. It's way more business, financial, city focused and might be dry for people who don't like that kind of stuff.... more>>
3.7 Stars
"2nd Chance, Poor to Rich, Business Management, all my favourite things!. It seems to really dive into investing which is novel considering how most web novels treat investments and picking stocks and choosing movies to invest in because of future knowledge and that's it. I've been eyeing Epiphanies of Rebirth becuse of the same tropes and this was one of the reccomendations"
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Writing/Translation: 2.2/5
The translated parts from Miss Lemon’s MTL I read were quite good. All the investment jargon was clear enough. There were no errors that I remember.
The rest I read in MTL using the default browser translation for Google and Safari. Reading only one version of MTL was kinda bad but if I read two at the same time, it's quite readable. I understood the gist of what was happening. All the investment stuff got more dry and maybe a good translation might have helped in that department but I don't think it would have had much effect.
Pacing: 3.5/5
Hmm, the investing were quite detailed. But after the first setup and establishment of initial funds, the start of the main big business and the rest got quite dry and had a lot of telling what was going on. Yes, there are also a lot of show-not-tell parts but still a lot of info dumps haha.
Plot: 4/5
I think people who love this kind of stuff would adore this story. This is a pure power fantasy for someone who has future knowledge and is ambitious enough to fight on the big stage for it. For me, I am not really interested in such things haha. So while objectively, this type of trope is good but I personally didn't enjoy it that much.
Romance: 4/5
The romance is pretty slow haha. Only in the last fourth of the story did it really gain traction. I didn't mind it. It's better than the normal seme uke teenaged fantasy BL romance lol. The two is a bit more realistic or mature?
Setting/Worldbuilding: 4.9/5
The world setting includes the US and various provinces of China. And in each there are different industries and businesses the MC is doing so the world is definitely bigger in this story. Also, lots of real-world history is being thrown around for that time period.
Characters: 4/5
The characters are pretty good. There are a lot of characters here.
Personal Enjoyment: 3.3/5
Not really a fan of these huge, mind-boggling amounts of money being thrown around. Not relatable anymore for me haha.
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CN (4.2)
116 Chapters Every 32.3 Day(s) 4283 Readers 57 Reviews 03-25-2024
3.69 Stars... more>>
Date Read: 20/04/2024
Personal Enjoyment: 3.7/5
I enjoyed the first half-ish until the MC had to stop proactively making money for fear of being reported. After that, it wasn’t bad by any means, just not as enjoyable. I like the beginning translators because they included lots of pictures of the food. It increased the homey vibes. But the last translator didn’t do that, unfortunately. There isn’t much poor-to-rich progression sadly. And the improve quality of life progression was a lot stronger at the beginning but stopped after she moved to the military base.
I enjoyed the romance at the beginning but after the ML’s leg healed, well, he kinda just became a typical military ML lol. After they got married, the romance wasn’t interesting anymore so all the bonding and onscreen romance stuff I skimmed. I’m just not a huge fan of light novel romance so it’s probably just my subjective opinion here. I also wasn’t a fan of the whole have s*x until the FL is in a sad condition lol. The FL’s kids were super cute though!
Short Summary: FL dies and transmigrates into the 70’s. She has a system cheat to be able to eventually buy the items to heal the ML’s disabled legs. She needs to earn points through cooking to do so. The whole story is about her cooking, trying to get close to catch the ML, getting married and moving to the army base and then living her life quietly there. Along the way, dealing with troublesome in-laws and super annoying neighbours.
Plot: 3.5/5
The main objective is for the FL to bring good luck to the ML. And they were done by her cooking and giving chances for the ML’s family to make some money. And also her having dreams of the ML's bad luck so she could change the situation. In the rural area, I loved her actions of finding ways to get the ML to have an impression of her and all the heartwarming cooking scenes. She made money, she worked on getting the ML’s leg cured and the romantic development was mildly interesting because the ML re****** her. Didn’t read that before yet lol.
However, after she reached the army base, I felt like the progression feeling slowed a lot. The only extra thing she did was to get pregnant and make friends whose purpose wasn’t to bring good luck but just to make friends lol. It felt even, that she had some trouble maintaining the level of comfort she could have had in the rural area because there, she could sell things more openly.
A thing that was a major issue with this novel is how arbitrary, vague and unmentioned the prices of the things the FL made and sold were. When the prices were counted, the total of the things were definitely wrong. And then the rest of the time, we don’t know how much money anyone actually had. Like the MIL. There was this whole conflict regarding money and inheritance but we don’t know if the villains really do have a leg to stand on because we don’t know how much the MIL had on hand and how much of it was the new business. Then, near the end when the FL was throwing money left and right to purchase many big things and even mentioned that she was broke, but still managed to buy whatever felt so short and quick. Yeah, the author’s other Makeup Artist story had a far better poor-to-rich progression that felt logical and satisfying than this.
Hmmm, also, I am not a fan of how the story handled the antagonists. Which are majorly, the in-laws. They were fine at the beginning then it felt like the author kept making them more and more annoying. And the brothers. There was really no sign that they cared about the money. So when the MC moved to the army and the mother visited and the fourth brother said the other brothers just let the wives complain to the mum and stare at her money all day long felt odd.
Honestly, the FL was more the ignore them type. So there wasn’t any proper face-slapping. So the antagonists were free to be super annoying without the FL doing anything to vent those feelings. The big bad at the end too. We just kept having them being annoying, the FL giving them the cold shoulder or talking smack to them which weren’t that convincing for me until the next round. Then finally, the anxiety-inducing scenes happened and it wasn’t the FL to destroy them in the end. Kinda meh.
Writing/Translation: 3.79/5
The translation I read is from ISOhungry Translation from C1-C11. I liked it! 4.5/5! The translator did their research and put into things like pictures, extra info, links to the time period, the food, what modern food similar to the story looks like etc. I didn't notice any errors either.
From C12-C29, I read from Blanceboo. Not bad, it was more directly translated than previously but still full of delicious-looking food images. ⅘. From C30 onwards, I read from Moonlight Novel. 3.6/5. And the TL is okay, still pretty readable. Lots of odd translation errors. I would say 7-9% are errors. A few sentences have some spelling errors that made me pause to think of the correct word. Still better than MTL or Flying Lines. Unfortunately, they didn’t include any food pictures like the other translators which was a definite minus for me. And they also had some sentences that seemed to be missing the last few words and period.
Pacing: 3.6/5
I felt that the first half-ish was better but after moving to the army, it felt less exciting. Because she couldn’t sell things openly. And it was more to maintain their lifestyle.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 3.7/5
It's a generic 70’s rural setting. I think it could have been better if they had added more places and described them a lot more.
Characters: 3.8/5
I liked the characters. The FL is surprisingly forward and knows what she wants. And definitely went for it haha. Like one of the commentators said, we stan a shameless FL hahaha. Too bad she turned into those ugh my waist is sore, my legs are weak, and I overslept because of that villain tossing me every night girl.
The ML is kinda cute. A strong quiet soldier type that blushes his ear red lol. And he quickly becomes soft towards the FL after the obstacle is cleared from the relationship. He turned typical male lead after healing his leg though.
The side characters are okay too. I like the MIL haha. Such a good one. And the fourth brother is cute. I wish we had more of the FL roommates and friends. The antagonists were rather annoying lol.
Romance: 3.8/5
The romance is quite sweet and endearing. I found the FL insta liked very quickly but the ML took a bit longer which I like. They got together a bit after C20+. I am slightly annoyed that the author used the man is so vigorous in bed that the FL will have a sore waist insert FL being angry that this soreness is because of the man etc etc. I just don't get this trope. It just shows that the ML is super inconsiderate towards the FL and that he doesn't take care of the partner's feelings in bed. Why is this a good thing??? Even if it is normal to be sore, s*x is a two-person act through??? Ugh.
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CN (4.6)
217 Chapters Every 25.5 Day(s) 9141 Readers 96 Reviews 07-25-2024
90's, similar to Investment Life but even more business and financial focused. Despite loving those kind of things, this was more dry even for me. More men in business suits in board meetings type of vibe.... more>>
3.64 Stars
Writing/Translation: 4.1/5
For chapters 1-43.1 by Betwixted Translation, I rate as 5.
For chapters 43.2-48 by Pure Love Translation, I rate as 5.
The rest I read mtl using google and safari default translation on mobile. I rate as 2.4
Pacing: 3.7/5
The pacing at the beginning is a bit too quick. But I think that was just an intro arc to give the MC some hidden fame and accomplishment and also to introduce the people close to him. The business parts in the middle were fine but the ending felt a little bit lacklustre because we focused more on the bad end of the various villains that were handled by other forces because the MC didn't care about them anymore. It would have felt more engaging if the MC was the one who did it on page.
Plot: 3.7/5
The plot was objectively fine. All the loose end was tied anyway. I just didn't really feel it or really liked it because the money being made was alrd too big to relate to anymore lol. And I couldn't really get why the MC would want to continue making money when all his and his close people are alrd set for a rich life by then. Also, I couldn't really understand the two friends and their interests. They joined the internet course and one of them got really into it a bit later on. But then both aren't focused on internet stuff anymore.
Romance: 3.5/5
The romance is just there.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 3.6/5
It was a modern world so I am already somewhat familiar.
Characters: 3.5/5
The characters were okay I guess. I didn't really feel one way or the other.
Personal Enjoyment: 3.4/5
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CN (4)
0 Chapters Every 1359 Day(s) 1420 Readers 8 Reviews N/A
I can't remember what year this was set in but it is when the country was rapidly developing. The MC's parents were born in 1960's and the MC is in high school. So lets say they got him at age 20, so 1980's. Highschool is plus 15 years so 1995 or somewhere around there.... more>>
3.61 Stars
"- getting initially rich from interior decoration for individual and then commercial customers"
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Writing/Translation: 3.7/5
I read everything in MTL because the current translation is even more incomprehensible than Google Translate. The MTL is surprisingly pretty good. I didn't really feel like I missed anything.
Pacing: 3.7/5
It's fine except there are some parts before a time skip that the author kind of glazes over all the events. And the ending was also like this. The author lined up the ML’s achievements after college in one chapter so quickly lol.
Plot: 3.7/5
Well, I preferred the author's other poor to rich works because they really started from scratch and step by step, got so great that it was very satisfying. This one, yes, there is still the satisfying building up but the jump to making big bucks felt too early for me. Still interesting, though. I didn't like all the BL in this backwards era, oh noooo side because I feel it was just a token effort that I was not interested in. I would rather they just skipped it. Now that I think about it, I feel like the author could have made it much longer to give the few side characters a better deal. In their other works, they felt... just more to me haha.
Romance: 3.3/5
The romance, eh. I didn't like the whole, ML had long loved the MC and was a total simp for the MC from the start while the MC, for one reason or another, is mature and holds back kind of dynamic, this author likes to do. There isn't as much to like. My favourite dynamic is the one from the Stone Age Husband Raising Journal haha. Very refreshing.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 3.8/5
Pretty okay for this type of story.
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CN (4.2)
72 Chapters Every 78.5 Day(s) 2925 Readers 51 Reviews 01-25-2023
70's. 3.37 Stars... more>>
Writing/Translation: 4/5
The translation I read is from A Dreamer's World for most of the chapters except the last 3. That one I read from oLiveUzer.
Pacing: 3/5
Rather bad pacing. Most of the story is like short stories of the MC and her family's daily life. Then, at the end of the college examination, things got a bit more exciting with meeting new people and having short encounters with people who were jealous of her, so some short face-slapping occurred. But then the story ends a few chapters later, so..
Plot: 3/5
Most of it was super chill; there was no stress in the daily life of the MC. Quite wholesome. But it was too chill for me. I wanted more action or something like watching the MC work hard to improve their lives. But the family has a pretty decent living standard, all the relatives have a harmonious relationship with each other, the husband has a high position in the army, and there isn't much of a catalyst to spur the MC to improve. We only get that she couldn't go to college after her bad previous life so she wants to do it this time and that was a pretty good incentive, actually. It's just that we don't really get to feel her studying hard or anything in the story. It was too brief and like an afterthought for that.
Romance: 3.8/5
The romance is pretty nice haha. The ML is a reticent, strong army guy but actually is super mischievous underneath. And he doesn't really force anything. It's just the MC who is shy. Actually, I don't like this tired af trope of the female being a blushing virg*n and whatever, but it's not bad here.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 3/5
Normal 60’s china era setting here. With a bit about the army’s housing situation.
Characters: 3.5/5
Personal Enjoyment: 3.3/5
I enjoyed the first half but got a bit tired of the chillness by then. I wanted more spice lol.
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CN (4)
116 Chapters Every 80.5 Day(s) 3650 Readers 63 Reviews 03-14-2022
3 Stars... more>>
Overall
I must say, the story isn't as comforting and chill as I was expecting. Honestly, this feels like a more snapshot-esque, far shorter, lower-intensity version of Back to the Sixties, Get Wealthy, Raise Cubs. The characters are less vibrant and have less personality than the ones in the other story. There is less detail in everything as well. Kinda meh about it overall, but I was at least engaged enough to read until the end.
At the first part, the bad guys are super annoying! Since the bad guy is the sister-in-law, they live in close quarters, so they have a lot of page time : (. The MC is a tolerant and side-stepping kind of person so there isn't any faceslapping from her boo. The faceslapping isn't satisfying because the bad guys don't learn or understand it. After the initial fear and alarm of the faceslapping, they very quickly become more entitled. Like punching cotton. Haih, the suffocating tight feeling of annoyance is present throughout most of the story because the faceslapping is not thorough enough to clear the air. When the final, more satisfying faceslapping happened, it took a few chapters to complete. And there were some time skips before it was done. Haih, why got time skip willy nilly.
Writing/Translation
The translation I read is from Shanghai Fantasy. Very enthusiastic but the translation is still kinda eh. Better than MTL, but not good. There are quite a few sentences where I don't know who's who or their feelings towards anyone, that I just don't understand. I can somewhat decipher the sentences but don't wish to use my brain so much. Until the end, not sure if it's a translation issue or just the writing, but I still don't understand some paragraphs. It also has a lot of pronoun errors. And random repeated paragraphs. And sometimes, there are 2 paragraphs of the same meaning but explained slightly differently, not sure if the translator forgot to delete the other one. And missing double quotes for dialogue sometimes. So, sometimes I don't know if the sentence is someone thinking or if it's dialogue.
As for the writing, the style is not quite in the head of the MC every single chapter. I feel like this story is written in such a way that it is just depicting the lives of people in that time period that just happen to be the MC and her family. It doesn't follow them 100% of their lives but will pick important events to show. So you don't feel as close to the MC as in Back to the Sixties, Get Wealthy, Raise Cubs. Especially in the last ish parts of the story. Personally, I don't like the author's style of introducing a bold idea for someone to make money, doing some setup/decision making for the business, then writing a few paragraphs of what happened regarding the business years in the future, which is basically, became a tycoon and made millions of money, then come back to present time to resume the business idea. I feel like the flow is interrupted all the time.
Pacing
The beginning is surprisingly quite slow. It took 16 chapters for the couple to meet and agree to be married. They finally get married in chapter 25+. Lol. The pacing is a little weird because we don't follow every single day-to-day life of the MC but the main events we will go into detail, then skip some months or half a year or almost a few years before we go into detail about the next big event. Sometimes, I feel that the event is too long lol. Like the weddings. Also, in the same chapter without any section dividers, we can go from one scene to suddenly years in the future without realising it. The timeskip is not clear. I feel like the story is a journal instead of an in-depth story.
Plot
I feel the ending ish of the story focused way too much on the side characters. Especially for the youngest sister-in-law's wedding. The pov wasn't the MC anymore but the side characters. I like them fine but I'm not that interested in their wedding details or the romance they had.
Themes/What Story Tried to Achieve
I thought there would be more business ideas but that honestly isn't the major part of the story. The business details are there with planning, projections, profit and stuff but we don't go into the day-to-day or the nitty gritty of it all which is sad. At the end, lots of the relatives were given ideas to make money. The execution of the business idea felt too unrealistically smooth. There were no true objections by the old fashioned relatives. I would have thought that there would have been more pushback or some diversity in how they reacted. It was too much wish fulfilment at the end. Especially like the eldest sister and her husband. Their characters until the end, are too rural and too easily bullied to handle something like a high-end luxury hotel. The business and the people are too clashing.
For the romance, unfortunately, in bed, the MC is that shy blushing wife that the husband will go crazy in bed for. When she says anything discouraging in bed, the husband gets even more excited about doing it. So the next day, everything aches and the MC angrily beats him. But the husband just grins and takes it as a joke and congratulates himself by saying overindulgence is also good *rolls eyes hard*. Other than that, the ML is pretty good as a husband. I actually like his personality here more than the ML in Back to the Sixties, Get Wealthy, Raise Cubs because over there the male ego, daughter adoration is worse lol.
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CN (4.1)
336 Chapters Every 18 Day(s) 2613 Readers 39 Reviews 09-26-2024
2.99 Stars C201: Dropped... more>>
Date Read: 12/3/2025
Personal Enjoyment: 2/5
I can't finish it XP. I love 50’s+ era type of stories and this one is a rare completed story with a high rating light novel. So I wanted to like and finish it but I couldn't continue. This story is like reading someone constantly patting themselves on the back, especially during chapters 40-160. It was a constant line of “so lucky to have such smart/obedient/beautiful children” by absolutely everyone. All the side characters exist to praise the children and the MC for being such a gentle and kind stepmother. By C102, I really wanted to drop the story but I wanted to at least reach the university part. Now that I have reached it, and it isn't any more interesting, I feel there isn't much for me left. In any case, I stuck on for 80% of the story so I'm gonna give a rating.
Plot: 3.7/5
The plot is kinda typical of these types of stories. But there are some random extra bits that feel kinda there. For example, Zhuzi. I thought he was just a kid that the MC would adopt to show part of the 60’s China-era landscape. But then it turned out he's not even the real Zhang family and has some important background that will be revealed later. Then, it turned out that both his real parents were alive and they came back to the military zone. So he has to go back to them. But they are super grateful to the MC and live next door. Also, they were really bland and normal despite being part of some super important capital people? So... what was the point of his whole backstory?? It doesn't seem to go anywhere or add anything to the plot?
Then there is the whole MC working while having kids trouble. Honestly... , I was just getting annoyed at her lol. Not sure what but something about it rubbed me the wrong way. Like if you actually treasure your flexibility, don't work -.-’. Especially in that era. If I were an employer, I sure would find her too troublesome and I am a woman lol. I also feel they have no dignity and have to keep begging her to work. Mostly, I don't get why the author included that whole thing. To show the MC is so amazing that people are breaking down her door to keep her? It also felt by the 2nd time that she wanted to eat her cake too, what with also having a job as a teacher. Idk, I just didn't like that whole plot and I can't pinpoint exactly why.
Ok, now with the big warning. If you don't like constant food descriptions and raising kids everyday type of scenes, this is not for you. Every chapter, especially the first 150, will have a food/meal-related paragraph, minimum 2 long paragraphs. How to cook it, what ingredients there are and so on. Then there is the time of buying the food, deciding what to eat, buying it, cooking it and then serving it. By then it's four/five paragraphs. Now add in the kids salivating over the food and then eating it. Now you have half the chapter. And then, them praising the food. Ugh. I was perfectly fine in the first 50 chapters as I was exploring the setting, characters and the story. But it kept repeating gah. The different food. But the reactions are all the same. It was the worst type of slice of life, monotone.
Then, you add in every freaking celebration in such detail as if it was the first one. Every New Year, moon viewing or grave visiting occasion, the author will describe what they do life the first time. And repeats the sentiments of all the characters again. As if we don't already know. They love the food, and they are grateful for having such a loving mother/wife/daughter/sister-in-law/children/brother/friend. And then, the crying when they have to part. For yeeeeears. The author does it from when Fantuan was 5 until 10. Dude.
Luckily, there were some changes when the university exams finally started. It definitely interrupted the constant food and praising of the MC and her kids for the same things. They now praise them for their smarts instead LOL. At least it's something new. And the plot feels like it's progressing again.
I stuck around because I wanted to read about taking advantage of future knowledge to better their lives. I also wanted to read about her making money at the capital or doing amazing in her classes. But they have gold bars in the Ml’s old courtyard :D And the MC barely spends her time with other people at the college. It feels like she doesn't need to do anything and she's set for life. For her, money really fell from the sky. Sigh. It feels too easy. The kids also had royalties when they were kids already.
If there was some intermittent petty face slapping to rejuvenate the story, I would have been happy to continue. But they were very far apart and most of the time, it was pretty quick that it wasn't satisfying. Or solved without any catharsis as they were all solved painlessly. If they were turned into friends that would be one thing. But most of the time they just fade out of the story.
Writing/Translation: 3.7/5
The translation I read is from Shanghai Fantasy. It was above average. Not the best. There were frequent minor pronoun/name mistakes. And at some points, two translations of the same sentence/paragraphs. And at one point, part of a chapter got accidentally cut and pasted into the footnotes. So the main text was weird. But it was still easy to read and the flow was good.
Pacing: 1.5/5
The time the MC spent after giving birth to the reinstatement of the college exams was so freaking slow. I almost dropped it then but stuck around to read until she attended college.
Setting/Worldbuilding: 3.7/5
I guess it was a bit better detailed than normal 60’s era-type stories. There is the village, the military base, the county and then the capital.
Characters: 3/5
The main family is interesting. Especially the kids. But the aide characters feel like they exist just to be in awe/grateful/admire/exclaim over the MC and her kids. It got pretty annoying, the constant wondering of how the heck she managed to raise such [insert good adjective here] kids. Sigh. The ML is a tad bland. The MC was fine until she got annoyingly whiny when pregnant. Then got back to normal at the college exams part. Now she feels a bit like a prop to display the good life.
Romance: 3.3/5
The romance is meh. It was good at the beginning when they just got to know each other. But then the child raising completely took over and they faded into the background. And became way more told not shown.
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CN (3.9)
77 Chapters Every 56.5 Day(s) 1812 Readers 24 Reviews 04-29-2023
1960's. Dropped: C88... more>>
Overall
Well, the beginning was amusing but the novelty wore off for me. I’m not a fan of any kind of misunderstanding, even benign ones like this, because everything doesn't feel authentic. So things like the romance just felt like a waste of time because their impression of each other is nothing true.
Writing/Translation: 3.8/5
The translation I read is from KnoxT up to C73. Then I read until C88 in MTL. The TL was a little bit odd but has lots of footnotes and the TL is passionate. The MtL is still understandable but it took a bit more effort than the translation.
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CN (4.2)
40 Chapters Every 67.6 Day(s) 998 Readers 9 Reviews 12-04-2024
1990's. C22: Dropped... more>>
Overall
Hmm, why did I drop it even though it has aaaaall the tropes I look for, poor to rich, do over, investments, etc. Well, in a good story, the level of excitement will usually fluctuate up and down right. But in this story, the line is pretty much stable. Good things are done by the MC but they were done in such a matter-of-fact manner that there isn't any feeling of catharsis at all. He got first in everything, I have no feeling, he got a windfall right out the gate, no feeling either, he bought his first property, no feeling because it was gotten by that windfall, his properties are slated for demolition and monetary compensation, no feeling either. I think it is because I can't feel much true effort being made. So it got kinda bland.
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- rottenorangex· Jul 27, 2024 02:33 PM
Read “Best Mom in the 60’s!”Reply · 1 · 0- puregarnet· Author · Aug 19, 2024 02:59 AMIt's on my Tbr Poor to rich list! Haven't decided if I'm going to wait for the TL to finish or not yet. But it sound hilarious
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