My family’s snacks for staying home during the Chinese New Year are the same three-piece set that never changes: peanuts, melon seeds and frozen pears.

I think this may be a must-have snack for most Northeastern families staying at home during the New Year.

In the northeastern countryside where I lived when I was a child, almost every household would plant a few ridges of sunflowers and peanuts in their yards.

When it's time to harvest, grandparents will collect sunflower seeds (called Mao Cai or melon seeds in the Northeast) and peanuts, dry them in the sun, and seal them for storage.

Wait until the Spring Festival is approaching.

At large rural fairs, large iron pots filled with sand will appear.

There is a blazing fire under the iron pot, and the melon seeds or peanuts mixed with sand in the iron pot are tumbling between the swings of the shovel of the roaster. When the melon seeds or peanuts are fried, use an iron sieve to sift them. The fragrant melon seeds and peanuts can be separated from the sand and packed.

Once it's in the bag, it becomes a stay-at-home snack during the Chinese New Year.

At this time, grandparents will take out the melon seeds and peanuts they have collected and carry them to the market.

The roasted seeds are processed by master roasters at a price of ten cents per pound and taken home.

By the way, I bought a big bag of frozen pears and a bag of candies.

These New Year’s snacks are enough.

When we were young, a few days before and after the first day of junior high school, our pockets were bulging with peanuts and melon seeds.

As for frozen pears, they must be supplied in limited quantities.

Otherwise, when we were children, we would not be able to resist the sweet temptation.

I once secretly ate five frozen pears a day while my grandma wasn't paying attention.

The old man was forced to move a locked box and put it in the yard to store the frozen pears.

As age increases, society progresses.

There are indeed more and more types of home snacks.

The means to obtain these snacks have also become easy, and they are readily available online and in supermarkets.

But in our family, although the variety of snacks at home has increased, melon seeds, peanuts and frozen pears have never been missing in recent years.

And we insist on processing it ourselves as much as possible at our house.

We all buy raw melon seeds and peanuts.

Place in a large pot and add five spices and cook thoroughly.

Then put it into a small cloth bag made of cotton gauze.

Then place these small bags on the radiator.

Dry these snacks with the heat from Northeastern heating ducts.

The melon seeds and peanuts made in this way will not get angry no matter how you eat them.

As for frozen pears, it's even simpler. When the temperature is more than 20 degrees below zero, just buy a few boxes of large white pears and put them outside the balcony.

When eating, put it in cold water and slowly bloom.

The taste is as sweet and watery as when I was a kid.

Spring comes year after year, and now I have taught my children to make melon seeds and peanuts as snacks for the Spring Festival at home.

Every time at this time, I still miss the New Year scene when I was a child.