Hannah quickly wrung out the towel and tried wiping the mud from her padded jacket.
But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't clean it properly.
"Do you need my help?" Daniel asked, secretly amused by her clumsy efforts.
Hannah hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Let me treat your ankle first," Daniel said.
"After that, I'll help wipe your clothes clean."
Hannah's left foot was injured.
As Daniel helped remove her shoe, he said in surprise,
"Sister Hannah, it's freezing. Aren't you wearing socks?"
Hannah gave an embarrassed dry laugh.
"Coming back to Carter Village today was a last-minute decision."
"I washed my socks yesterday, but they still haven't dried."
Daniel rolled his eyes.
"Oh, I know how quarrelsome your mother-in-law is."
"She probably doesn't want to spend money buying you new socks, right?"
Hannah stopped trying to argue.
Her nose stung slightly, and she gave a quiet hum of agreement, clearly feeling the unfairness herself.
Daniel glanced at her but said nothing more.
Seeing the redness and swelling around her ankle, which clearly showed it was a serious sprain, he immediately pressed the snowball gently against it.
In a case like this, medicated liquor massage would actually work better.
The problem was that none was available.
So even though Daniel knew a little about traditional massage techniques, without the proper materials it was like asking a skilled chef to cook without ingredients.
The snowball was pressed gently against Hannah's soft, delicate foot, making her feel both pain and intense cold.
"Hiss…" she drew in several deep breaths.
Her brows tightened slightly, her eyes narrowed, and her lips trembled from the icy sting.
"Be patient. It'll be over soon," Daniel comforted her softly.
Hannah gave a small hum of agreement and said quietly,
"It's alright. I really have to thank you today. Otherwise, I don't know what I would have done."
Daniel looked at her ankle and said,
"Judging by your condition, you probably won't be able to walk for the next two or three days…"
Before he could finish, Hannah panicked.
"Oh? Then what should I do? I told my mother-in-law I'd be back tomorrow."
"You know what her personality is like. If I don't return on time, she'll scold me so badly I won't be able to bear it."
"Daniel, can you think of some way for me? I absolutely have to get back tomorrow. I can't afford any delay."
Daniel slowly shook his head, looked at her, and replied,
"As the saying goes, a broken bone takes a hundred days to heal."
"Your foot injury is quite serious. It won't recover that quickly."
The moment she heard this, Hannah immediately became frightened and discouraged.
As far as she was concerned, her mother-in-law, Mrs. Miller, usually only started cursing when something displeased her.
But her husband Jack was different.
If she made even the slightest mistake, he might hit her.
That constant fear stayed in her heart.
For a village girl like her, being able to marry into the city already felt like a blessing earned over many lifetimes.
So no matter how hard or exhausting life was in her husband's family, Hannah accepted it willingly.
No matter how badly her husband or mother-in-law treated her, she would never openly resist.
She would simply endure it and remain anxious.
Seeing tears gather in Hannah's eyes in the blink of an eye, Daniel sighed inwardly.
Even in sadness, she still carried that soft and pitiful charm that naturally stirred sympathy.
Still, instead of continuing to comfort her with words, Daniel crouched down and gently wrapped her injured foot.
After a while, once the skin had dried from the cold compress, Daniel stood up, wrung out the towel again, and helped wipe the dirt from Hannah's clothes.
"Sister Hannah, don't worry too much," Daniel reminded her.
"If all else fails, you can always have one of your relatives come to the city to let them know what happened."
Seeing her delicate, troubled expression, Daniel couldn't help lightly patting her shoulder as reassurance.
Hannah shook her head, sighed, and said,
"You don't understand."
"Hm, maybe I don't," Daniel said.
"Sit up straight. Let me help clean the mud from your clothes."
As he said this, he gently pulled at her shoulder.
Hannah immediately straightened her back, lifted her chin, and stretched out her arms.
Because of the thick padded coat, she looked slightly bulky, almost like a clumsy little duck.
Daniel found the sight unexpectedly amusing and started helping clean her clothes.
Snapping out of her daze, Hannah asked in confusion,
"What are you laughing at?"
Daniel gave her a teasing smile.
"Of course I'm happy to be this close to such a beautiful woman like Sister Hannah."
Hannah rolled her eyes and said irritably,
"It really seems like you need a wife soon, Daniel."
"You should hurry up and find a girl to marry so you can stop saying all this nonsense."
Daniel smiled and replied,
"What you're saying makes no sense."
"Even if I were married, I still wouldn't be able to control myself in front of a beauty like Sister Hannah."
"Hehehe… then go find someone even prettier than your sister here," Hannah laughed.
"Then maybe you won't be so greedy."
She paused, looked around the room curiously, and asked,
"Daniel, I never realized you were such a quiet and careful person."
"You must have saved quite a bit of money over the years, haven't you?"
"What money?" Daniel shook his head, his expression suddenly very serious.
"I don't have any money at all."
Hannah hesitated for a moment.
Then she slowly opened her arms toward Daniel, signaling for him to help lift her.
Daniel stepped forward, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her gently into his arms.
Looking down at her small flushed face, he said with a smile,
"Honestly, how can such a grown woman still be so silly?"
Hannah's cheeks instantly turned red.
Grinding her teeth in embarrassment, she snapped,
"The silly one is you!"
"Don't you dare talk about your sister like that!"