What was Shirdi like spiritually before Sai Baba returned with the wedding party?

The narrative in Chapter 5 indicates that Shirdi was already a place of spiritual significance before Sai Baba's return with Chand Patil's wedding party. The text makes it a point to mention that other saints had already chosen the village as their home. Specifically, it states that "Before that, Devidas had already made Shirdi his home, and later Janakidas Gosavi also came to live in Shirdi." This context suggests that Baba's arrival was not into a spiritual vacuum, but rather into a place that was already sanctified by the presence of other holy figures, setting the stage for Shirdi to become an even greater center of pilgrimage.