Daniel Ross had no intention of letting Hannah take any of those things home.
Tomorrow, he would simply give her ten pounds of cornmeal so she wouldn't return empty-handed and face scolding.
Daniel understood the Miller family's nature far too well.
If he became too entangled with them, it could bring him endless trouble in the future.
So from now on, whenever Hannah came to his place, she could eat and drink as much as she liked, but she couldn't take anything back with her.
He couldn't afford to spoil that habit from the very beginning.
Hannah didn't press the matter further.
Truthfully, she still wasn't entirely sure whether Daniel was genuinely poor or merely pretending to be.
If she hadn't returned to the village this time and seen his house and furniture with her own eyes, she would still have believed he was truly struggling.
After all, it was true that every few days Daniel borrowed money and grain from the people living in the courtyard.
Over time, this naturally created a certain impression in everyone's mind.
The reason was simple—
Daniel spent freely and never seemed able to save money, so people assumed he was poor.
That night, Daniel boiled a large pot of water.
After Hannah had washed up thoroughly, the two of them returned to the room and settled in for the night.
So, I'll make a small condom for your cock; you just have to take me to the city!" Emily Carter said impulsively.
But Hannah's condition was far worse.
By around eleven o'clock, she was drenched in sweat, her whole body aching, and she lay quietly in Daniel's arms, trembling from exhaustion.
"I'm never doing this again, no matter what," she muttered weakly.
"You're far too ruthless. I feel like I'm hurt… it really aches."
Daniel was startled.
He looked down and checked carefully.
Sure enough, there was visible redness and swelling.
Without delay, he secretly purchased an anti-swelling spray from the system store and gently applied it.
"Hiss…"
Hannah let out a relieved breath.
"This spray really works."
"It feels cool and refreshing after it's applied. It's actually very soothing."
A soft smile appeared on her face, and warmth filled her heart.
At that moment, she felt Daniel was truly thoughtful—
nothing like Jack Miller, who had never once cared for her this carefully.
Everything in life became clear once there was comparison.
And once there was comparison, the difference became impossible to ignore.
For the first time, Hannah even found herself thinking that if she didn't already have three children, she might truly have wanted to leave everything behind and stay with Daniel.
Daniel set the spray aside, washed his hands, then slipped back under the blanket and pulled Hannah lovingly into his arms.
"Feels good, doesn't it?" he said with a satisfied smile.
"These things aren't cheap. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't even be willing to use them."
Hannah lightly patted away his restless hand and laughed softly.
"Stop moving around. It's too cold."
Then she asked,
"Hurry and check the time. It must be getting late. Let's sleep and wake up early tomorrow."
Daniel reached for the clock on the table beside the bed, looked carefully, and replied,
"It's almost midnight."
"We really should sleep now, or I won't be able to wake up tomorrow morning."
"Alright, then sleep," Hannah murmured.
Curled safely in Daniel's arms, she drifted off almost instantly.
Daniel smiled as he looked at her peaceful face.
He blew out the oil lamp, tucked the quilt over them, and soon fell asleep as well.
…
The next morning.
When Daniel woke and found no one beside him, he felt a strange emptiness.
She left? he wondered.
Then he quickly smiled to himself.
In the end, she belongs to someone else. Spending even one night like this is already enough.
Suddenly, he remembered the system rewards.
A notification rang in his mind.
Ding: After connecting with the system, the host has completed his first intimate relationship. System rewards granted:
10,000 Great Unity notes
100 tons each of ten varieties of chickens and eggs
100 tons each of one hundred types of vegetables
100 tons each of one hundred kinds of fruit
100 tons each of one hundred varieties of poultry and livestock
100 tons each of one hundred species of freshwater fish
10,000 tons of rice
10,000 tons of wheat flour
100,000 tons of cornmeal
1,000,000 tons of sorghum flour
"This… this…" Daniel stared in disbelief, a huge grin spreading across his face.
That amount of food was enough to feed millions of people in Chicago for months.
And there was still the cash reward—
ten thousand ten-dollar notes.
That meant a total of one hundred thousand dollars.
Even if Daniel worked day and night, he barely earned fifty dollars a month.
To save one hundred thousand dollars would take him decades without eating or drinking a single cent.
Buying supplies without ration coupons was almost impossible, yet the system's store solved that problem entirely.
This system was simply unbelievable.
If he could ever sell these things openly, their value would easily reach unimaginable heights.
Sleeping with Hannah had brought him such a reward.
Thinking of all the women in the world, Daniel could hardly imagine how wealthy he might become one day.
Still, he knew he wasn't strong enough yet to challenge the world openly.
For now, caution was still the wiser path.
Once the mysterious system shop fully opened, there would surely be many items capable of strengthening him even further.
It seemed he needed to speed up the process of unlocking the first mysterious shop.
After securing food, money, and all these rewards, Daniel looked at the mountain of supplies in his storage and felt deeply satisfied.
Seeing the resources reminded him of his city house.
Some of the furniture there had already become worn out.
It seemed he would soon need wood to make new furniture.
Daniel had already decided—
he would use pine wood.
Pine had many advantages.
Its shape was simple and elegant.
Its lines were smooth and clean.
The grain was beautiful, the color warm, and it carried a faint natural woody fragrance.
With proper care, it lasted a long time and remained sturdy.
In this era, using expensive hardwood would attract too much attention.
Pine was perfect.
The village house lacked nothing, but the city rooms still needed many things.
He hadn't replaced them earlier because he feared showing off his wealth and attracting envy.
But if he bought the wood himself and simply hired someone to make the furniture, most people would only think he was capable and practical.
Even if they felt jealous, they would keep it to themselves.
After all, in this era, workers and skilled hands were still respected.
Having made up his mind, Daniel closed the system display page, got up, dressed, and stepped outside.
"Hm?"
"There's noise coming from the kitchen."
"Is that Hannah… or Emily?"
The moment he stepped beneath the eaves, Daniel heard movement from the kitchen and grew curious.
When he reached the kitchen doorway and peeked inside, he saw Hannah.
For some reason, the sight instantly made him feel as if clouds had parted and sunlight had broken through.
A bright happiness filled his heart.
Hannah, busy cooking at the stove, turned back and smiled.
"You're awake?"
"I put hot water in the thermos."
"Go wash up first. Breakfast will be ready soon."
Daniel walked forward with a smile.
One arm slipped around Hannah's slender waist from behind, while his other hand gently rested over her padded coat as he leaned his chin on her shoulder.
Breathing in her familiar scent, he praised warmly,
"Sister Hannah, you're truly so capable."
Hannah smiled while keeping her hands busy at the stove.
"Of course I am."
"In the future, you should marry a wife just like your sister here."
"I guarantee your life would be happy."