During the Warring States period, a stunningly beautiful girl from the state of Qi was cherished by her parents as the apple of their eye, who hoped she would marry an ideal husband.
Her family had two neighbors, one to the east and one to the west, each with a son, but their circumstances were worlds apart. The eastern neighbor was a wealthy landlord, living in luxury with fine clothes and rich food. The western neighbor was a poor family, struggling year-round in coarse clothes and simple meals. The two sons were polar opposites in character: the rich landlord's son was ugly, uneducated, and utterly talentless, while the poor man's son was handsome, intelligent, and eager to learn.
One day, two neighboring families—one wealthy, the other with a handsome son—sent matchmakers to propose marriage to the same girl. Her parents, torn between wealth and looks, couldn't decide and asked their daughter, "Which suitor do you prefer?" The girl blushed and replied, "I'd like to eat at the rich man's house and sleep at the handsome man's house."
"Now both the eastern and western neighbors have sent matchmakers to propose marriage. We can't make up our minds, so why don't you decide which family to marry into, alright?"
The young woman's cheeks flushed crimson as she opened her mouth to speak several times, only to stop herself, and after a long while, she still had not uttered a single word.
Her parents, thinking she was too shy to speak, pressed further, "Child, if you're embarrassed to say it aloud, just roll up your sleeve and show us your arm. If you wish to marry the wealthy neighbor's son to the east, bare your right arm; if you prefer the neighbor's son to the west, bare your left. Let us know your heart's desire, and we'll choose a son-in-law accordingly."
Unexpectedly, as soon as her parents finished speaking, the girl bared both arms and raised them high. Perplexed, her parents asked in surprise, "What do you mean by baring both arms?" The girl shyly replied, "I am willing to marry into the eastern family for meals and into the western family for lodging."
This was an answer her parents never could have imagined.
Later, people derived the idiom "Eating at the East, Sleeping at the West" from this story, using it to describe insatiable greed, choosing only for profit, and disregarding shame.
Source: *Yiwen Leiju*, Volume 4
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "东食西宿" came to describe insatiable greed, choosing only for profit, and disregarding shame.