They'll self-destruct and move on. Guaranteed more boats will arrive. In China, laws are not as harsh with snakeheads as with drug traffickers and others criminals. In Mawei, population 20,000, like everywhere, a crowd presses in on the foreigners chatting through an interpreter with a couple of locals. And he's lived here 30 years.
Life here is better than ever.
A few doors down, in his restaurant, Huang Ming Xian, flashing a big smile, peels vegetables. People who go on the boats all come from far-reaching areas outside Mawei. Zhou Hua Zhen, who has the brightest, kindest eyes ever seen, invites us in, not even knowing why we came to visit. Tea is immediately poured. Her sister, Zhou Bin Xiong, puts a bowl of peanuts on the table.