At home my PCs have CIFS/SMB shared folders, it’s handy and simple to use. However I can’t find an Android app capable of browsing these shares.
There’s Android Samba client and CIFS Document provider on F-droid but both require to know the exact IP and path, you can not just browse the network like on a PC.
I use MiX, which has a “Search local” option when adding SMB, which sounds like what you’re after
Mix is my replacement for ES File Explorer. I still use an old version of EX, but Mix has some great features.