“How do you know?”
“What else could explain it?”
“What evidence would prove you wrong?”
At first Eli found those questions annoying.
Then he understood.
His father was finally taking him seriously enough to challenge him properly.
That winter, Eli noticed unusual wear on a trailer tire.
Marcus made him explain why he thought the axle alignment was wrong.
Eli measured it.
He was right.
In spring, Eli thought a section of hay field was draining badly because an old tile line had collapsed.
Marcus made him map the wet areas first.
Eli was wrong.
The tile was clear.
A broken culvert farther uphill had redirected runoff.
Marcus did not tease him.
“Good.”
Eli frowned.
“I was wrong.”
“Exactly.”
“How is that good?”
“You found out.”
That became their way of working.
Observation.
Question.
Test.
Answer.