HLM – Chapter 885 Departing for the Christmas Village

These two wars had a profound impact on Finland. During World War II, although Rovaniemi was far from the center of Europe and sat in a remote corner, it still couldn’t escape the effects of war.

Anyone who has visited this city will notice German influences on some of the old buildings. That’s because German troops were once stationed here and built a large number of structures. But this also led to Rovaniemi’s tragedy—in the final stage of the war, the city was heavily bombed by the Allied forces, and the old town was almost razed to the ground.

At dawn, the city gradually came alive. Because of the polar night, the people here especially cherish daylight—especially today, when it’s Christmas.

A heavy snowfall had just ended, and the ice on the ground had thickened again. There weren’t many cars to be seen in the city; instead, horse-drawn sleighs, dog sleds, and electric sleds were common.

Both sides of the street were lined with Christmas trees. Hanging from their branches were small gift boxes that anyone could pick. Inside were small presents—like a piece of fruit, a candy, or a tiny toy.

Rovaniemi was at its liveliest during Christmas. Tourists from all over the world gathered here. Standing on the street, Wang Bo heard all kinds of accents and languages, including Chinese.

Dale happily sat in the pumpkin carriage, while Zhuang Ding and the Queen (the two dogs) got up and began pulling the sled. Wang Bo waved, escorting them along. “Run a bit slower—just enough to pull the sled!”

Mainly because he couldn’t run. With so much ice and snow, he had to walk slowly; one careless step and he’d fall hard. He’d already seen several tourists slip on the road. He didn’t want to become one of them.

A bearded white man approached and greeted them: “Hi, Merry Christmas! Are you tourists?”

Wang Bo had heard that Finns were as cold as their weather, so he was pleasantly surprised someone greeted him first. “Yes, hello sir. Merry Christmas, and may the Lord bless you.”

It was easy to tell locals from tourists—tourists walked with great difficulty, while locals walked as if the ice didn’t exist. Some were even out for their morning run.

The bearded man smiled. “Same to you. Enjoy the festive atmosphere in Rovaniemi. Santa Claus will be heading out soon.”

After exchanging friendly greetings, they parted ways.

On the road, Wang Bo said to Eva, “Looks like Finns aren’t as cold as people say.”

Eva replied, “Finns are vigilant, not cold. But that guy just now was a bit too enthusiastic. I think he probably drank a lot of vodka.”

In this freezing land, Finns had two national traits—one was ice skating, which nearly everyone could do, and the other was drinking, for which everyone had a good tolerance.

On the pedestrian path, a young man was dancing, arms waving and body twisting dramatically. Wang Bo nodded along with the rhythm and laughed. “Finns really know how to enjoy life—practicing dance this early.”

Eva guessed, “Maybe he’s doing street dance. What a hardworking guy. Should we ask him for an autograph? I think he’ll become a famous street performer someday.”

While the two were chatting, the young man suddenly attempted a midair flip—but failed to land and fell flat on the ground.

He got up and cursed in embarrassment, “F**k! Damn ice—I shouldn’t have walked on the sidewalk!”

Wang Bo and Eva exchanged a look and quickly lowered their heads to continue walking.

The edge of the city sat along the Kemijoki River, known as the mother river of the Christmas City. Unsurprisingly, it was already frozen over. Standing on the bridge, the cold wind blowing across the river was strong enough to make their eyes water.

The two stood at the bridge, looking northward. Following the Kemijoki as it cut through the city, one could reach Mount Ounasvaara. The gentle slopes made it ideal for hiking. In winter, tourists came for Christmas and the northern lights; in summer, they came to hike.

At the moment, the snow-covered mountain rose between heaven and earth, veiled in mist. Everything was a white, quiet, and beautiful expanse.

Eva suggested, “How about we go skiing?”

Wang Bo kissed her and replied, “Of course we’re going skiing—but not today. Today is Christmas; we’re supposed to look for Santa Claus.”

If you came to Rovaniemi for Christmas, looking for Santa at Santa Claus Village was a must—otherwise, the trip was meaningless.

Dale grandly waved her hand. “Get in! I’ll take you to find Santa Claus!”

Eva laughed and shook her head. “No, no, girl. Do you want to exhaust Queen and Zhuang Ding?”

Zhuang Ding lifted his head and gave a proud howl, clearly displeased at being underestimated.

Wang Bo said, “I think Queen and Zhuang Ding can pull us, but this pumpkin carriage might not. If it carries our weight, it’ll probably fall apart on the road.”

Dale panicked. “Then you guys should run behind us! I’ll tell Zhuang Ding to run slower!”

Wang Bo, of course, couldn’t run. Santa Claus Village was still a distance away—they needed an electric snowmobile. These were common in Rovaniemi, and many tour agencies in the north of the city rented them out. One hour of rental cost only 18 euros.

Wang Bo rented a large electric snowmobile. The staff issued the invoice while asking, “Which one of you has a motorcycle license?”

Wang Bo was stunned. “You need a motorcycle license to drive this?”

The staff paused typing. “For your safety, sir. Without a motorcycle license, we can’t rent it to you.”

Eva said, “Ah, it’s like this—we’re accompanying a child to Santa Claus Village. She’s on a dog sled, and we’ll be going very slow, definitely not faster than the dogs.”

The staff hesitated. “But those are our rules… I’m sorry…”

Eva gave a charming smile, her eyes shimmering as she looked at him. “Today is Christmas. We’ve wished for years to see Santa Claus. Don’t let that wish fail—please?”

The staff surrendered immediately. “Okay! Merry Christmas. Take this slip and pay the deposit over there. Have a wonderful day!”

But when they went to pay the deposit, Wang Bo realized Eva’s beauty trap had been wasted— Because there were two types of snowmobiles: one like a motorcycle, and one like a car!

The car-like one was more expensive—100 euros per day. But it looked very sleek, modeled after BMW, Mercedes, Lamborghini, and even conceptual designs like bullet trains and rockets. It didn’t require a motorcycle license—just a car license.

Naturally, Wang Bo chose the latter. He picked a red bullet-shaped model that looked like something straight out of a James Bond movie—cool and stylish.