Bab 4674: Never Too Late to Love (81)

A thin horse is an insulting term for a woman, meaning that a woman may be ravaged as if she were a weak horse.

Why do they use the term "thin horse"?

Because the brokers and middlemen who were in the business of "raising thin horses" bought the young girls from poor families at a low price and sold them at a high price after raising them, this was the same way businessmen bought thin horses at a low price and fattened them before selling them at a high price. Therefore, people called these women "thin horses".

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, "raising thin horses" became a lucrative investment, and a large number of people specialized in this profession.

They would first invest in buying beautiful girls from poor families and then groom them. The girls would be taught singing, dancing, playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. When they grew up, they would be sold to the rich as concubines or to the brothels, for a profit.