Throughout the war, the pyramid of the ration system was remade through three illicit practices: self-provisioning, leveling, and theft. Many officials created steep new hierarchies through self-provisioning, establishing elite canteens, stores, and special parcels for themselves and their patronage networks. They also leveled distinctions by redistributing stocks, mainly allocated for workers, to feed vulnerable groups. Finally, large-scale and petty theft was ubiquitous. Shortage created demand for stolen goods, and theft in turn drained the ration system and increased shortage. Gray and black markets sprang up everywhere. Hungry workers, thieves, disabled veterans, and pensioners used markets to trade, supplement their rations, and sell stolen goods. In the absence of retail stores, markets bolstered the ration system by allowing goods to circulate, and destabilized it by providing an outlet for stolen goods. As such, they reduced stocks allocated to ordinary people and forced them to buy back at vast markups what they should have received by right.