The narrator makes the point that there wasn’t much else for a medieval peasant to spend their money on besides food, shelter, and clothing. If you want to subsist on vegetables and porridge, in a small home in a tiny rural community, wearing basic clothing, you wouldn’t have to work many hours to get by.

The other element is that medieval Europe experienced a huge labour shortage following the Plague. Owners weren’t allowing workers to work less because they were nicer in the medieval period. They had no choice. Exploitative 18th and 19th century capitalism coincides with a massive increase in population, which decreased the power of the individual worker, at least until unions became a thing.