The engineer looked toward the mountains.
Then continued.
“He also would've complained about how much the electricity costs.”
She burst out laughing.
“He absolutely would.”
They sat quietly.
Then she asked him something.
“Do you think he knew it could work?”
The engineer considered the question.
“I think he believed there was something worth investigating.”
She nodded slowly.
He continued.
“That's different from knowing it would succeed.”
Dileia looked toward the processing shed.
For a long time, she remained silent.
Then she smiled.
“I think that's what I've finally learned.”
The older man nodded.
“Good.”
The following spring, she established a small technical training program in her father's name.
It wasn't an expensive publicity campaign.
It was a practical partnership with a local community college.
Students visited the processing operation to learn about industrial equipment, maintenance, quality systems, environmental controls, and agricultural materials.
The facility offered a limited number of paid training placements under proper supervision.
Dileia wanted young people from farming families to see that agriculture involved more than planting and harvesting.
It involved engineering.
Chemistry.
Logistics.
Finance.
And the ability to recognize opportunities in materials other people overlooked.
During the first group visit, a young student raised her hand.
“Is it true everybody laughed when you started?”
Several students turned.
Dileia smiled.
“Not everybody.”
The girl looked disappointed.
“But some people did?”
“Yes.”
“Did it make you want to quit?”
Dileia thought for a moment.
“Sometimes.”
The student frowned.
“What kept you going?”
Dileia looked toward her father's photograph.
Then toward the processing equipment.
“Evidence.”
The students looked confused.
She smiled.
“I didn't keep going because I wanted to prove everybody wrong. At first, maybe I did.”
She paused.
“But that isn't enough to build a business.”
The girl leaned forward.
Dileia continued.
“I kept going because every careful test taught me something. Some results were bad. Some were good. Eventually, enough of them showed there was a real opportunity.”
She pointed toward the production line.
“This place didn't succeed because I believed hard enough.”
The students listened.
“It succeeded because people did the work.”
She looked toward the retired engineer standing near the doorway.
“Engineers.”
Then toward the technicians.
“Operators.”
Then toward the quality laboratory.
“Scientists.”
She smiled.
“And a lot of people who told me no when I needed to hear it.”
Several students laughed.
Then the girl raised her hand again.
“Do you think your dad would be proud?”
Dileia felt her throat tighten.
For several seconds, she couldn't answer.
Then she smiled.
“I hope so.”
That evening, after the students left, Dileia walked into her father's workshop.