We get a slightly defensive, feisty Paul here. Reading between the lines, someone must be claiming that Paul is living large when he shouldn't be. Or possibly that Paul is being duplicitous—sometimes eating meat and sometimes not, sometimes taking compensation and sometimes refusing it. Paul offers a defense of his actions.
Verse 5 is a fascinating look at the fact that Peter has a wife who goes along with him on his journeys, as apparently do the other apostles and Jesus' brothers. I wish we heard more about these women in the post-Gospel accounts. They are clearly present and active in the early church's mission, but they are almost entirely invisible in the narrative.
Apparently there is a question of compensation for apostles. Paul does work with his hands as a tentmaker (which is a form of leather work), but he also takes breaks from that work in order to preach and teach. While he is not making tents, people are paying his expenses. Apparently this is offensive to some people who think Paul should not be taking such compensation. The irony here is that it's likely wealthy people who are complaining about Paul's compensation—wealthy elites who did not have to work themselves.
However, it also seems that in Corinth specifically, Paul has avoided taking compensation because he knew it would be offensive to some. This is Paul practicing what he just preached in chapter 8: limiting his own freedom for the sake of others. He has the right to be paid. He chooses not to exercise it. That's the model he's holding up—not that ministers shouldn't be compensated, but that rights are always secondary to the mission.
Questions for reflection
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Paul insists he has the right to be compensated for his ministry, but chooses not to exercise it. How does this complicate the way churches talk about paying (or not paying) their leaders?
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The people most offended by Paul's compensation were likely the wealthiest members of the church. Where do you see that dynamic playing out today—those with the most resources being the most critical of how others are supported?