In the grand tradition of the mad genius who bought mountains of Healthy Choice pudding so he could rack up millions of frequent flier miles on the cheap comes the story of a Chinese man who took advantage of a loophole to eat for free in an airport VIP lounge for nearly a year.

The story was originally covered in the Chinese-language newspaper Kwong Wah Yit Poh in Malaysia, according to the New York Post. The man, who isn't named in the piece, purchased a refundable first-class ticket aboard China Eastern Airlines that came with a complimentary meal at the airline's VIP lounge.

That was almost a year ago. Every day since the purchase (after eating his meal), the man would then rebook his ticket (for free) for a flight on the following day. Then he'd return to the airport, eat, change his flight and go home.

Eventually, according to the Post, the airline grew wise to the man's ruse and confronted him. This was after officials noticed that his ticket had been canceled and rebooked an incredible 300 times over the course of one year. That's a lot of complimentary shrimp cocktails.

Because the ticket was fully refundable, the man was able to turn it in and get all his money back.

Apparently there is such a thing as a free lunch. You just have to be willing to hang out at the airport to eat it.

Follow Mike Krumboltz on Twitter (@mikekrumboltz).