The diet and living conditions were terrible. Whenever a significant amount of track was built on the railroad, the workers had to move their camps. Chinese workers often walked 40 kilometers to reach the next camp. They had to dismantle the tents, pack their bags and move everything to the next location. Zhang remembered when they were in BC and the land was very mountainous. He was grateful they weren't there during the winter! After another year of work - four years in all - Zhang and the Chinese's work on the railway was finally finished. From one part of Canada to the other they had traveled on foot. Tom, Song Lee, and many others, white and Chinese, were dead. Even if Zhang had been free, he would have made a big mistake. He had dreamed of his family, food, wealth and many other things, but in the end he realized that he did not have enough money to go home.